Sky of Blue
by JumpTheMountain
Summary: It's one thing to be fourteen and a ninja. It's quite another to be fourteen and a murderer ordered specially for the Anbu Black Ops. Aoi doesn't know anything other than killing, but what happens when she's discovered by Kakashi and Minato? KakashiGaiden
1. In The Night

_This is such a pain. Why couldn't Mom send Ayame to do this instead?_ I mentally complained as I trudged through the streets of Konaha. Ayame, of course, is my older sister. Ayame's pampered by my parents; I'm not really sure what it is about her that they like so much better, but in any case, I was always sent to do the dirty work. Mom and Dad probably just didn't want to tarnish Aya's perfectness.

And she was, naturally, perfect.

I sighed, but picked up the pace. This particular murder was going to be a pain. Not because of the high security of the target's home, which wasn't even really security at all, and not because of the person themselves. No, this was going to be a pain because of all the grief I knew this was going to cause. This was going to be a pain because I was on my way to kill one of Konaha's highest ranking ninja.

I didn't know her name—to be honest, I didn't really care what her name was. All I cared about was that I had to kill her, and I had to do it quickly.

It would be easy, this much I knew. Anbu were overrated, and weren't even as skilled as they were shown off to be. They were pathetically easy to kill, but at least I could get a little fight out of them.

_I wonder what her mask will look like?_ I thought to myself, visualizing my growing collection of Anbu Black Ops masks that hung on my wall, each one a constant reminder of all the lives I'd taken. I'm strictly required to kill only members of Konaha's Anbu who piss off my parents. Even though we live in Konaha ourselves, I wouldn't really consider us a part of the community. After all, one of us is a murderer.

That would be me.

I smirked, recalling each expression of complete and utter shock that was always the same upon every one of the victim's faces. Every time, it was the same. Just imagine what they would have thought when they realized that they were about to be killed by a fourteen year old girl who wasn't even an official ninja of the Hidden Leaf.

How weak they must have felt.

Chuckling at the thought, I lengthened my stride and picked up the pace.

_Almost there._

The apartment building I was searching for slowly became increasingly larger. There wasn't anything particularly special about this building; there were several nearly identical structures that served the exact same purpose as this one scattered throughout the village, but I needed something that was inside this building. The thirty-fourth apartment, you could say, if you wanted to be exact. That was where tonight's target lived.

I now stood just a couple inches in front of the navy blue door. A bronze plate was nailed to the thick slab of wood at eyelevel, the number 34 engraved in exactly the center of the plate.

Now for the fun part.

Almost boredly, I raised my hands and began to form the hand signs that would activate my specialized version of the clone jutsu. There was a small puff of smoke a couple of seconds later, and I stared blankly down at the bloodied corpse that lay at my feet. It was a little girl, maybe six years old. The body wasn't real, of course. Just a clone.

So this was who the woman cherished most.

I raised my gaze back to the door and tapped lightly on it, a smirk already in place. This always worked.

The door opened to reveal a woman in her mid-twenties. Long blond hair pulled into a thick braid stretched down to her waste, and it fell over her shoulder. Long bangs fell into her face, almost obscuring completely her dark brown eyes, but not quite.

_How unusual,_ I observed, _to have blonde hair and brown eyes._

Still smirking, I jerked my head down to the small body at my feet.

"She's dead."

The woman's eyes shot down to stare at the body, but she reacted faster than I was used to. It only took her a couple of seconds to take in the sight, and she raised her gaze angrily back to mine—the dark brown pools swirled furiously with hate, and she let out a little yell and dove for me.

I leaped backwards onto the railing, gave her a mocking smile, and jumped again, twisting in the air to land on the roof of the building opposite to the apartments, my back to the woman who would die in just a few short minutes.

Not waiting for her to come after me—everything had happened in just a few milliseconds—I took off for the woods at the edge of the village, knowing she would come after me.

It didn't take long to reach the gates, and I crouched for a moment before leaping directly up, pushing with my legs as hard as I could. I flew up and over the wall with no problem, even overshooting a bit. I loved the feel of the wind in my hair.

I didn't get to relish the feel of flying for long, however, because just a second later an ear-piercing shriek echoed through the woods. I winced—my ears are very sensitive—but proceeded in launching myself forward into the trees.

I was maybe a mile or two into the forest when I finally lurched to a stop, tucked between a large branch and the thick trunk of a tree. Though for most shinobi this position was not ideal, it always worked best for me. Trees always worked best when I wanted to use my genjutsu.

"I'll kill you!" the woman cried, appearing several feet in front of me. Angry, grief-stricken tears ran down her face, and her dark chocolate-colored eyes blazed. In her right hand she clutched at a kunai, and she held it with the tip pointing back up her arm, the blade parallel with her wrist and forearm. So she was a close range fighter, was she?

Excellent.

"Not today," I replied, smiling casually and confidently. Leaving my left arm limp at my side, I raised my right hand to about my chest-level and formed a fist, with my middle and pointer fingers sticking up, and my thumb parallel to them with the tip tucked into my palm.

My genjutsu activated immediately, my body seeming to disappear, melting easily into the rough bark of the tree. Though in reality I hadn't moved an inch, I knew exactly what the woman in front of me was seeing, and I grinned, manipulating her senses to see, smell, hear, and feel what I wanted them to.

To her, a hand reached up to grasp her ankle, anchoring her to the tree-branch so she was unable to move. She gasped and struggled to break free of "my" grasp, and I chuckled lightly, knowing she wouldn't hear it, but then the laughter vanished.

_Alright, enough playing around. Let's finish this._

I focused more intently on the jutsu, and in her mind, a wall of wood suddenly rose up from the tree, encasing her and crushing her body. I released the jutsu as her body fell limply at my feet, bloodied and bruised. Her bones were crushed.

I stared blankly down at the dead woman, feeling nothing for her. I didn't know what she had done to make my parents angry, but if there was one thing I knew, it was that my parents were not irrational. Her death was for the good of someone, and I'd simply carried out my orders, nothing more.

Reaching down towards her forehead, I pushed back the stranger's thick blonde hair and placed my hand across her soft, still-warm skin. I closed my eyes and reached into her fading mind with my kekkei genkai, digging through her memories quickly before she died completely and there was nothing left. Finding what information I wanted, I opened my eyes and stood.

It wasn't hard to find my way back to the village and the anbu's apartment. The dark blue door was still open, swinging just the slightest bit on its hinges. The only light that was shed came from a lamp in the living room of the apartment of the now dead woman, and I paused in the doorway as a cold wind gently blew my deep violet hair to the side.

Sighing, I stepped into the apartment and made my way to the bedroom with ease, where I dug through her dresser until I found her mask. It was white, like all the others, with orange, flame-like markings creeping up from the left side of the chin. Two eye-slits were carved into the mask, and I smiled slightly. I liked this mask.

Not having any place to put the mask for the time, I strapped it to my head so it wasn't covering my face, but was on the side of my head the way I'd seen many Black Ops do. I took one last glance around the room before heading back outside so I could go home.

This had been a tiring night. Though I hadn't toyed with this woman as much as I would have liked to, I found myself strangely exhausted.

_Weird. I didn't even give her time to fight back._

I shrugged it off and walked the streets quietly back to my house. No one was out and about to see me, so I didn't worry about walking out in the open, like I would have during a day-job. Night missions were always my favorite for this reason.

I didn't see him until he appeared directly in front of me, only a couple of inches away. Though he wasn't very tall, he was still taller than me, and I had to tilt my chin to look him in the eye. Messy, spiked silver hair flamed up from behind his dark blue headband that showed off the fact that he was a ninja. Eyes blacker than the night that enveloped us scrutinized me with disdain, and his face from the nose down was hidden behind a black cloth mask. The boy was my age, though he could've easily passed as older, and he looked to be painfully arrogant and prideful.

"I don't like murderers," he said, and his voice was deep, thunderous and quietly threatening at the same time.

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not a murderer now, isn't it?" I replied smoothly, lying through my teeth. I stared him in the eye, daring him to challenge me.

"I also don't like liars," he returned.

My green eyes widened just the slightest bit. _Oh, shit,_ I thought to myself. I was dead.

I took half a step back, turning slightly as if about to bolt. My mouth dropped slightly open, but I was unable to force words from my mouth. I didn't know this boy's name, but I'd seen him before, and I knew he could kill me without trying. He was nearly immune to genjutsu.

"I… I…"

"You what?" he asked, his voice mocking, and I couldn't come up with a response that would make any sense. Even if I could have, I doubted I would be able to force it from my mouth.

I was silent, but took another step back. This boy frightened me, which was confusing. I was never frightened of anything. He simply stepped forward with me, keeping the close proximity which I guess he was using to intimidate me.

"Don't kill me," I whispered, staring at him with wide eyes. _What is your problem? Why are you being such a wimp? Get a grip!_ I screamed at myself. God, why was I acting like some weakling schoolgirl?

"And why shouldn't I? How many lives have you taken, that I shouldn't take yours right now? How many people have you killed?"

I just stared at him, fighting to find the words to make him leave.

"Tell me!" he roared, and I shrank back, stumbling away from him.

"Fifty-seven." Even though I was the one who'd said it, I could barely hear the words.

The boy growled and raised his hand as if to strike me, and my green eyes pinched shut as I flinched back, my arms raising to protect my face.

"Kakashi!"

The sharp, stern voice rang out clearly through the street, and I slowly raised my arm to see a tall, blonde man with spiky hair standing beside the silver-haired boy, his hand wrapped around the arm that he'd raised to hit me.

"It's not gentlemanly of you to strike a woman when she's down. I'm ashamed of you," the man scolded.

"But, sensei, she's a killer! You saw her murder that woman!" the boy named Kakashi protested, glaring at me. I cringed at the word 'killer'.

"I'm not a killer," I growled. "I did it on orders, nothing more. I had nothing against that woman. I was ordered to kill her, so I did. You would have done the same, had you been told to kill her, would you not?"

The blonde man just shook his head and released Kakashi's arm. Smiling kindly, he offered a hand to help me up from where I'd fallen on the ground. Unsure whether or not I could trust him, I just stared at his hand until his smile faltered and he pulled his hand back, and I pushed myself up from the ground, glaring at Kakashi.

"Now, I realize that you two are pissed at me and all, but I really do have to go. Later," I muttered as I turned my back on them and raised my hand in half of a wave; I didn't shake my hand or curl my fingers, just raised it. There was another, albeit longer way home if I went this way.

I had only gotten a couple steps away when Kakashi appeared in front of me again, and this time I angrily pushed him away.

"God, what is your _problem_? Get out of my space!" I snarled, eyes narrowing. The fear that had shuddered through my body moments ago had fled from my system, and was replaced with defiance fueled by the fact that I'd been humiliated. A ninja did not show fear.

Kakashi smirked and grabbed my wrist, pulling me even closer to him. He used his other hand to reach behind me to grasp my neck and pinch the nerve there. Involuntarily, I sank to my knees, tears of pain filling my eyes.

Before I knew could figure out what was happening, I fell forward and blacked out.

* * *

><p>The steady, unbroken, annoying bleeping that emanated from somewhere close to my head was the first thing that pierced my consciousness, and I screwed my eyebrows downward, frowning at the noise. Heart monitors were only found in hospitals.<p>

I wasn't hurt, and therefore could not be in a hospital.

"Wrong."

I jumped, eyes snapping open at the unfamiliar voice, and I glanced wildly around. My hands tried to snap up into a defensive posture, but they only pulled at thick leather bindings that were holding my wrists down to the hospital bed. I panicked.

I tried to kick, but my legs were bound at the ankles, and another thick strap held down my stomach so I couldn't roll and pull the bindings from their bases.

Forcing myself to calm down, I slowly took in the room around me. It wasn't really a normal hospital room, but it was close enough that the difference was almost undetectable. Even though I knew this wasn't your average hospital room, I couldn't really pick out what it was that was different, other than the fact that I was strapped to my bed.

The bleeping continued on, the pace only slightly faster than before. I glared to the side at the monitor, and that's when I noticed the owner of the voice, who I hadn't been able to see before because he was standing by my head, not in front of me.

He had long, dark blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and his skin was dark and leathery, covered with small battle scars, even though he couldn't be more than twenty years old. He smiled kindly at me.

"Hello. I'm Inoichi Yamanaka. It's a pleasure to meet the Shadow Fox of the Leaf. I've been waiting for this day," he said, and my eyes widened.

"Shadow Fox of the Leaf? I have no idea what that means, you must have the wrong person," I hurried to explain to him, wondering who in the world the Shadow Fox could be. That wasn't a name I'd heard anywhere before.

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, I'm positive it's you. I can read minds, kid. I know you killed all those Anbu. We've been searching for you for a long time."

I looked away. _Damn it, I'm screwed._ "I was under orders," I mumbled. "I wouldn't have killed them if I had any other choice."

"I know, that's why I'm being so nice to you. I understand how you feel because I now share all your memories. You should know how that works, right? That's how your kekkei genkai operates."

My fists clenched. "You can't tell anyone about that."

"Oh, I don't know about that. The Hokage is the first who must know, and I'm pretty sure Minato's team has a right to know as well. After all, they're the ones that found you."

I was silent. The man was obviously someone of importance if he was one of the Hokage's dogs. But… "Can you tell me who the Shadow Fox is?"

His face turned serious as he began to tell the story.

"About four years ago, our Anbu started disappearing. At first, it was only one or two every few months. For the first couple of years, we didn't give it much thought; we'd only lost about twelve Anbu, and those could have easily been mission murders—stuff like that happens all the time. But one year ago, the bodies began turning up more and more often. Forty-five more Anbu have been lost in the last few months, each one killed using genjutsu, each one's mask stolen. Outside some of their homes—the ones that were killed at night—there would be clones of dead bodies of people important to that particular victim.

"We began to sense a pattern. We sent out search parties to look for the mysterious killer dubbed 'The Shadow Fox' because of their slyness of the fox, and how they seemed to disappear into the shadows every time we got a lead. We'd begun to think the search was going to turn up hopeless until Kakashi found you last night, and here you are, a fourteen year old girl who isn't even an official ninja, and you've been killing off some of our most respected Black Ops. To be honest, I'm impressed. You've got some real potential, kid."

I wasn't looking at Inoichi by this time. I was too ashamed. I'd killed so many people—so many people who had families and friends and people that cared about them. I'd taken them forever from those people, all because I'd been told. I didn't have a right to do what I'd did, and yet done it I had, and now… now I could be killed for my murders. Now I would have to take responsibility for everything I'd done.

"What's going to happen to me?"

I didn't realize that it was I who'd said the words until they were out of my mouth, and I wished I could take them back. I wasn't sure I really wanted to know what they would do to me.

"Well, I've saved you from an interrogation; now that I know everything about you, there aren't any questions you'll have to answer. The rest depends on the Hokage. He may have you thrown in jail, exiled from the village, or executed."

I gulped. This was not sounding very good. Though I could deal with being thrown out of the village, I somehow doubted that the Hokage would choose that option. I could easily break out of jail, and I could probably fight my way out of being executed, but I didn't really want to have to kill any more people if I could help it. Unless I was under orders.

"I doubt the Hokage will choose any of those options, though," Inoichi continued, and I realized with a start that he had to be concentrating in order to read my mind. He'd just been finishing up before when he'd answered me. So he had a jutsu similar to my kekkei genkai…

"And what do you think he'll choose?" I challenged, staring at the wall in front of me.

"I think he'll place you on a team and have you become a real ninja. Maybe you yourself will become an Anbu someday. Kakashi Hatake is well on his way." I could hear the smile in his voice, and I fought back a grimace. I could never understand how some people could be so disgustingly happy; life was harsh, and allowing yourself to be happy could result in a pain beyond any other when it was all ripped away from you.

"That's ridiculous. I've been killing Anbu Black Ops since I was ten. Why should I become one?" I snarled, surprised at my own ferocity.

Inoichi didn't reply, and for good reason; someone was just about to enter the room. I listened as footsteps approached the door; two men, two boys, and a girl. The door slid open a moment later, and two familiar figures strode into my little corner of hell, followed by three more people I didn't know.

"Kakashi, Minato," I greeted them stiffly, eyes narrowed as I stared them down. Minato smiled in greeting, but Kakashi just glared. The girl and boy beside them shifted nervously; the boy had spiked black hair and orange goggles. He was the kind of kid that would get on my nerves. The girl had short brown hair that cut off at her chin, and she had one purple stripe on each cheek; she seemed nice enough.

The last person to enter the room was an elderly, kind looking man with a white goatee and a big red and white hat that was round and flat. The Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, it's a pleasure to meet you," I said politely, but my voice was laced with venom. All of this was his fault.

"Ah, yes, Shadow Fox. I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you. How are you?"

"A bit tied up," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Kakashi looked about to say something, but Minato silenced him with a look. The Hokage just chuckled.

"A sense of humor, I like that. Would you mind if I borrowed Inoichi for a bit?"

"Not at all. It'll keep him from digging around in my head."

Without replying, the Hokage turned and left, followed closely by Inoichi. As soon as the door slid shut, a deafening silence spread throughout the room, and I fixed my eyes on the window to my right, forcing myself not to look at them.

Several minutes passed in silence, and once it was finally broken, the person's voice seemed too loud, even though they were speaking quietly.

"Tell me, Shadow Fox, how are you liking that chair?" Kakashi asked, and my gaze snapped to him, a furious glare plastered across my face.

"Stuff it, ninja. I have no interest in your petty little remarks that you seem to think raise you above everybody else," I snapped.

He sneered. "Yes, because—

"That's enough, Kakashi," Minato broke in, and Kakashi fell silent, glaring at me. The girl suddenly smiled.

"Hello, I'm Rin. What's your name?"

I stared at her. Nobody had asked for my name before. No one had called me by my name. No one had cared what my name was. In fact, I'd forgotten my name altogether.

My mind raced, digging around in my head to come up with something. "Um, Aoi. Aoi Aizuko."

"Oh, that's a pretty name. Blue… Such a strange meaning. You don't seem blue at all to me."

I didn't reply. Rin was nice, but she was too… chatty, perhaps, for my taste.

"Oh, Aoi! That's a cool name! I'm Obito Uchiha, and I'm going to be the Hokage someday!" the black-haired kid informed me. He was way too obnoxious; I didn't like him at all.

"Shut up, Obito. She doesn't want to hear your yammering," Kakashi muttered. I guessed he didn't like Obito either.

"Oi! Don't speak for her, Kakashi! I bet she's really nice!"

I glowered at the Uchiha, green eyes flashing. "Don't count on it."

He flinched away just as the door slid open again, and he glanced at Inoichi. "Hey, Inoichi-sensei… any chance she's got some Hatake blood in her?"

Inoichi laughed. "Not a chance, Obito. Looks like you've got the Aizuko's on your tail now, too."

Obito moaned. "Oh, great…"

I didn't pay attention to them, but locked eyes with the Hokage, staring him down.

"You've come to a decision, I trust?" I said icily, my voice low. I hated not being in control.

The Hokage nodded. "That would be correct."

"If you're going to kill me, just do it now and get it over with. I'd rather not draw it out."

"I'm not going to kill someone who's just a child, even if they are a murderer; you're going to be set up with a team and trained to become a real ninja. If you can pass the test that all genin pass at the Academy, you will be assigned to a team and you will cooperate with them; you will be sent on missions along with them and you will learn how to work _as a team_, rather than as a separate entity. Also, you are to be removed from your home environment and moved into an apartment not far from your assigned sensei; your family is under house arrest for the moment and will be trialed within the next month. If they are found guilty… there might not be much left of the Aizuko family. If they are found innocent—which, I assure you, they won't be—then you will be aloud to return home. Until then, I'm afraid you will have to stay with a jonin of my choosing, whomever I see fit. You will be kept with Minato for tonight and I expect you to report to the Academy at seven tomorrow morning, not a moment later. Dismissed."

And the Hokage vanished with a puff of smoke. I stared incredulously at the place he'd been standing just a moment before, my brain still drinking in the information I'd just been given. My mind raced; I was staying with Minato tonight? Why was I going to become a ninja? Who was my assigned team going to be? Was the genin exam hard? Did I have to perform jutsu? What about the stranger I'd be staying with for the next month, beginning tomorrow? What if I didn't get along well with my team? What if they were all idiots?

My brain felt bloated with questions, and I began to get a headache. I was so distracted by all the sudden new information that I hadn't realized I'd been untied until Inoichi had seized my arm and pulled me up off the bed.

"Oh… thank you…" I muttered distractedly, standing and allowing the blood to flow back into the limbs that had fallen asleep.

"Well, come on, then, we'd better get going," Minato said cheerily, a smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, just give me a second so that I can actually feel my legs," I snapped, crossing my arms. I looked down at my clothing, and realized that I'd need a new outfit; the current one was torn and dirty from the previous night. Oh, good.

A few seconds later, we left the stuffy, cramped room and filed into a narrow hallway; I felt claustrophobic and wanted out, so I turned around and went back to the hospital room, sliding open the window.

"Hey, Aoi, what do you think you're doing?" Kakashi asked. He must have turned back when he noticed I had turned around.

"Going outside, stupid. What does it look like I'm doing?"

I jumped off the sill and landed on the ground in front of the building, where Rin and Minato were just exiting. Kakashi landed with a soft thump next to me, and Minato smiled.

"Hey, you two. What were you doing up there by yourselves?" he teased, and I glared.

"Like I'd ever do anything with him," I snarled, striding forward, eager to be able to go somewhere. This whole thing actually sounded kind of fun, like an adventure. All I'd done my whole life was followed orders. To be honest, this wouldn't be much different, but at least I wouldn't be expected to go slinking around.

"What she said," Kakashi echoed.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I sat up in a tree at six thirty at the Academy, waiting for the sensei to arrive; a man named Iruna. I'd seen him around before, and knew who he was. His best friend had been one of the Anbu I'd killed a few months back. Not that he knew who I was.<p>

"Hey, Blue Fox," a voice greeted from my left, and I jumped. No one ever snuck up on me.

I turned to see Kakashi crouched on the branch beside me, a smirk on his face. Oh, good, he'd come to pester me.

"What, so now I'm Blue Fox because of my name?"

"It's not your real name."

Startled, I narrowed my eyes. "How'd you know that?"

He shrugged. "I can just tell. Why'd you lie about your name?"

"Because I don't know my name."

He snorted. "That's ridiculous. How can a person not know their own name?"

I shrugged. "My parents never used my name, and no one ever asked for it. After awhile, I just… forgot."

"So how'd you come up with Aoi?" he questioned curiously, sounding genuinely interested.

I looked up at the sky, smiled, and pointed. "The sky is blue."

"The sky?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes. The sky is endless and can take you anywhere you please. The sky makes everything happen: the rain, the snow, even the sunshine and breeze. It's so powerful, and so beautiful. It's everything I could ever want to be."

Kakashi was silent, and after a few moments I had to look over to make sure he was still there. He was still staring distantly up at the sky.

"Well said," he murmured.

Footsteps by the gate snapped us back to reality, and we both froze, staring towards where the noise was coming from. A man I recognized as Iruna strode forward towards the Academy.

Once he had passed under us, I dropped silently from the tree and stalked forward to stand quietly behind him.

"If you try anything…" he trailed off, speaking to me without turning around.

I scowled. "Aw, no fun!"

"Aoi Aizuko, I presume?" he inquired, turning to face me. He had light brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and a dark blue headband across his forehead bearing the leaf village symbol. I could see he was a Jonin level from his dark green vest, and I suppressed a snort. Weak.

I nodded, and decided to play dumb. "And you are?"

"Iruna. He raised his eyebrows and eyed me skeptically. Finally, he sighed. "Well, let's go, then. You're no use to the village if you don't know anything."

Frowning, I muttered, "Do you even know who I am?"

He grimaced slightly, but didn't reply, simply turned back to the Academy and led the way to the classroom my test was to be held in.

Just before the door could sway shut behind me, I turned to catch just the faintest glimpse of dark ebony eyes and a mass of silver hair watching me from our tree, smirking like he knew a secret.


	2. Ichiraku's

**I know that this chapter isn't nearly as long as the last one; I wanted to update tonight, but I only had like an hour to come up with something, so I was rushing. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors there may be; I didn't have the time to go back and re-read, so if there are any problems they will be fixed by tomorrow. I know it may be kind of choppy, but please bear with me. **

**Please don't make me put up a disclaimer. If I owned this or any of the anime's I write about, they obviously wouldn't be up here on . **

**Love y'all!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>2<p>

Exhaustion coursed through my body, threading through my veins and deadening my limbs. My right hand was cramped and sore from writing, and I had to admit that the fitness test had been harsh. Granted, I'd pushed myself much further than I'd needed to go, but I was determined to show Iruna just how much I knew and just how good I was.

There was only one task left, and while I was sure I could do it, I hesitated at the idea of using my particular version of the jutsu. Positive this wouldn't turn out well, I strode from my desk to the front of the empty classroom with uneasy emerald eyes.

I didn't know how to execute the original clone jutsu, so Iruna would just have to settle for the… _upgraded_ version. I hoped he wouldn't try to kill me.

Sighing, I faced Iruna with determination and performed the needed hand-signs. Iruna's face expressed confusion when a couple of the signs were different from the original version, and I just grimaced in anticipation. This was going to hurt.

There was a puff of smoke and a short burst of charka. When the white-grey smoke finally cleared, a clone of the dead body of a young woman was lying motionless and dead on the ground. Scratches and bruises covered most of her body, and her clothes were ripped and torn.

Iruna's eyes widened in surprise, and then his gaze snapped to mine. I bit my lip and looked away.

"I don't know the original jutsu," I explained. "When I was little, this was the clone jutsu I was taught. It's altered so that the clone takes on the appearance of the dead body of the person closest to the victim. The person that's most important to them. It's a ridiculously simple way to extract them from the village."

He shook his head, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I've heard about you, Shadow Fox. I'd heard rumors that the new girl was the legendary Shadow Fox, but I'd never once believed them to be true. I see now that I was wrong." He sighed. "To be frank with you, Aoi, I'm impressed. You pass."

The clone disappeared with a puff of smoke, and my eyes widened with surprised delight. "Really? I pass?"

"That's what I said, kid. Get up here and get your headband," he ordered, sounding kind of shaken. I didn't blame him. To be honest, I would have been, too. If, you know, there actually _was_ someone important to me. Which there wasn't.

I grinned and strode forward to grab my dark navy blue forehead protector from the table. I tied it around my upper arm, towards my shoulder. It fit comfortably.

"Thanks for everything, Iruna. I'm glad I'm able to actually be considered something other than just 'that killer girl who isn't even a ninja'. At least now I can be 'that ninja killer girl'." I smiled awkwardly. My horrible joke was met with silence. He didn't even crack a smile.

"Okay, well, um. I'm just gonna… go…" I muttered, turning to leave the room. I fled from the building, grateful to leave behind all that exhaustion and awkwardness.

As soon as I'd pushed through the door, I stopped right in my tracks, my eyebrows raising in surprise. There, standing right there waiting for me, was Rin, Obito… and Kakashi. He'd waited for me this whole time.

"Guys?"

Rin smiled, and Obito grinned. "Hey, Aoi! We wanted to make sure you made it out alive! Those genin exams are pretty brutal, huh?" Obito blabbed, and I forced myself not to tune him out as soon as him opened his mouth.

"Well, not really. It was only hard because I pushed myself just about as far as I could go. The exam itself was actually pretty easy," I replied, mentally patting myself on the back. I'd actually done pretty good.

"What was your score?" Rin asked curiously.

I rolled my eyes to the sky as I thought back, and I frowned. "Actually, I don't think Iruna-sensei told me my score. Is that bad?" Now I was beginning to get concerned.

Obito's mouth dropped open. "No! That means you did really, really well! Iruna-sensei is taking your score to the Hokage!"

My eyebrows insta-raised. "Seriously?"

Before I could ask any more, Rin held up her hand. "Enough about the test, Aoi! I see that headband on your arm, so now we have to go celebrate!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.

"But I don't have any money!" I protested as she seized my arm, pulling me forward. The boys followed along behind.

"Nonsense, it's all on me!"

"_What_?" I gasped, digging my heels into the ground. I pulled us to a halt. "No way, Rin! I'm not letting you waste your money on me!"

She sighed, tugging on my arm. "At least let me treat you to ramen," she pleaded, eyes shining. "If you say no, I'm taking it as an insult."

"Fine, fine," I groaned. "Ramen sounds good anyway."

"Yay! Thank you, Aoi!"

And to Ichiraku Ramen we went.

* * *

><p>"Oh, my god, I am <em>stuffed<em>," Obito sighed, patting his stomach an hour later.

"I'm pretty full, too," Rin added, her eyes half closed.

"I'm going home," Kakashi muttered, sliding off his seat and pausing on the way out. He turned back to look at me, raising an eyebrow. "You coming?"

"Why would I be coming with you?" I asked, confused.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're supposed to stay with me until you're assigned a team and the Hokage finds you an apartment. He assigned _me_ as your babysitter."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. _Just fan-fucking-tastic._ "Alright, alright." I growled, jumping down to join him by the door. I turned back to Obito and Rin and waved. "See you two later."

"Bye." They waved back, and Kakashi and I left the small building.

* * *

><p>"<em>This<em> is where you _live_?" I asked incredulously, gazing around at the hot mess of an apartment that Kakashi called 'home'.

He rolled his eyes. "Do what you want, just try not to pig out on the food, and turn out the lights when you leave the room. The bills here get expensive and I only have so much money."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll only be here a couple of nights anyway, so you don't have anything to worry about."

"You can stay in the guest room. It's across the hall from my room. If you need anything, wait until I'm awake… Actually, wait a half hour after that. I'm vicious in the morning." He smirked.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said sarcastically as he shut himself in his room. I turned and entered my own. I couldn't see in the dark, but I didn't need the light to tell where everything was. Still in my ratty old clothes, I slipped out of my shoes and flopped down on the bed, not bothering to go through the usual routine. I was too tired. I'd left my bag in the living room, anyway.

Without even crawling under the covers, I fell asleep.


	3. MindDiving

**This one makes me laugh, so I hope it makes you guys laugh too^^ The next chapter will be longer, I promise. I hope you like it!**

**Kisses!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>3<p>

"What are you _doing_?"

I turned my head to see Kakashi standing in the doorway of the living room, his already messy hair disheveled even further from sleep, his black eyes more grey than black as he struggled to wake up, and his arms crossed over his bare chest. His mask still covered his face, the black cloth stretching down his neck until it cut off at the base.

It was hard to stay standing; the pile of dirty laundry in my arms was surprisingly heavy. I frowned.

"I believe a better question is, why don't you do your laundry?" I retorted, stumbling towards the laundry room. I dropped the dirty clothes on the floor and pulled a black shirt from the dryer. I tossed it to him, and he caught it with ease. "And put some clothes on," I added, smirking.

He looked down and realized that he was only wearing his pajama bottoms, and his hand immediately flew up to his mask. He relaxed when he found that it was still there.

I rolled my eyes, but started another load of laundry. Of course, he hadn't even bothered to get out of bed until around noon, and by that time I'd already cleaned about half of his house.

"There are some rice balls in the fridge for you," I informed him as his pulled his shirt over his head.

"Thanks," he replied sarcastically, but he made his way towards the kitchen anyway.

A knock at the door announced someone's arrival, and I poked my head around the corner to see Minato standing in the doorway. I grimaced as he smiled cheerily.

"Good morning, kids," he greeted, entering the apartment without permission. Judging by the way Kakashi frowned but didn't protest, I guessed he did this frequently.

"The Hokage would like to see you in a couple of hours, Aoi," he continued.

"Oh, goody," I muttered, returning to the laundry.

"Actually, it's very good."

I jumped in surprise when Minato spoke from just a couple of feet away, and I smacked my head on the cupboard that had been placed too low over the washer.

"Damn it, Minato," I growled, rubbing my head. "What's so great about going to see the Hokage _this_ time? Is he going to chain me to the wall instead of strap me to a chair?"

He laughed. "Nah. He's decided whose team he's going to place you on, but I'm not aloud to breathe a word."

I rolled my eyes. This would be too easy. I squinted at the sensei and tilted my head.

"Your face is red. Are you sick, Minato?" I asked innocently, eyeing his face. Of course he didn't have a fever, and his face, to be honest, wasn't red at all.

He frowned. "I don't think so. Why?"

I beckoned him forward. "Lemme feel your forehead."

He shrugged, but didn't protest when I reached up to place my fingers over his forehead. As soon as my skin made contact with his face, however, I dug quickly through his memories until I found what it was that I needed.

Minato stumbled back dizzily. "What the hell?"

I smirked. "Thanks for the info, Minato, it was really helpful. I'm sure you'll make a great sensei."

He grimaced when he realized what I'd done.

"Hey, no fair," he complained.

I shrugged. "Life isn't fair. Get over it. You can tell the Hokage I've got all the information I need to know."

He sighed in exasperation. "Aoi, I really think you should go and—

"I do not need to go and visit the Hokage, Minato-sensei. I've got all the information I need. I'll meet with you and the rest of the team at the training grounds in two hours like you want, but right at the moment I have some things I need to do."

Minato opened his mouth, but Kakashi cut him off as he strode into view. "Wait. 'The rest of the team', did I hear that right? You're going to be on team Minato?"

I smirked. "That's right, ninja-boy, so you better get used to it."

He threw his arms into the air before storming towards his room, yelling the whole way there, "Oh, for all that is good and holy!"

I laughed.

This was going to be fun.


	4. Two

**Hey, guys, BT here! I'm going to apologize in advance for any sloppiness or errors, or any extended periods of time in the future that I don't update for a while. I'm grounded, and not aloud on the computer except for homework purposes, so I've been writing the stories down on paper at school and typing them up before my dad gets home. Right now I'm uploading because I've got homework to do on here right after this, and I can always say I'm doing homework. Anyway, I hope you guys like this one! Review!**

**Kisses!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>4<p>

Before I could meet with the rest of our team at the training grounds, I had to get new clothes before the ones I was wearing ripped any more and fell off my body.

Sighing, I rubbed my temples. I hated shopping—with a passion. I decided to just grab what matched, was durable, and was cheap. This turned out to be a tee shirt under a ¾ sleeve fishnet shirt, black shorts, and black boots. My Hidden Leaf forehead protector was still tied around my upper right arm. My violet hair was swept back into a ponytail, with the bangs brushing down around my forehead. Now that I was in clean clothes, I felt loads better.

I even felt like I might be able to laugh again.

This strange feeling that I could laugh, that it was possible, came suddenly, unexpectedly. It frightened me that I might already be growing attached to these people. It frightened that they could make me feel such a thing as happiness.

I was almost to the training grounds when I made my decision: I would not allow these people to grow close to me. I would make them hate me.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Aoi!" Rin greeted me, smiling.<p>

I muttered a quick hello before leaping up into the branches of a tree several feet away, so I was set apart from the others. I didn't look at them, didn't talk to them. Tried not to think about them.

These people were not my friends.

After a few minutes of complete and utter silence, I heard a crunch at the base of my tree. I lowered my gaze from it's place in the sky to meet Obito's. I blinked in surprise, then frowned. What did he want?

I sighed. "What, Obito?"

His animated face, for once, was blank, but his voice suggested concern when he spoke. "Is something wrong? You seem kind of detached."

Grimacing, I thought, _Of course._ I shrugged. "I just don't want to be here."

"Oh." He was silent, but didn't move.

I growled lowly in the back of my throat, narrowing my eyes as I glared down at him. "Do you need something, or did your toes just magically attach themselves to the grass?"

He frowned. "No, but… are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, Uchiha. Quit worrying. You'll get old faster."

He laughed. "As in grey hair and frown lines? I think I can hold out for a while. Hey, what do you say we all hang out after training? We could all go get ramen. Rin gets these crazy cravings if she works too hard."

I shrugged. I could be a part of their team without being their friend. That was do-able, right? … Right.

"Sure, whatever. I haven't had lunch anyway, so I'll be hungry enough."

Obito grinned. "Great! I'll go tell Rin and see if I can convince Kakashi to come along, too. I'll have to work on him for a few minutes, though." He turned and took off towards another tree a few yards away. Rin was slumped against the trunk at the base, and I knew Kakashi was perched somewhere in the thick limbs, hidden by the masses of leaves.

I watched as Obito opened his mouth, but before he could start pestering our teammates, a puff of smoke in the center of the clearing announced Minato's arrival.

"Hey, kids," he greeted cheerily, a bright smile plastered across his face. God, why was he so happy all the time? It was unnerving. "I see you're all on time," he continued.

"Unlike a certain blonde idiot of a sensei," Kakashi muttered, and I stifled a laugh. Rin turned to glare up at him, and Minato's face flushed. He reached up to scratch his head.

"W-well, you see, guys, I actually started out early, and it's really a funny story, because, uh—

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before. What was it this time?" Obito asked sarcastically. "Black cat? Pretty lady? Hokage called you?"

Minato laughed. "Well, actually—

"Please, do spare us," Kakashi interjected, and the sensei shook his head.

"Never mind. Anyways, today we're going to focus on accuracy."

My eyebrows rose without my permission. This was going to be interesting.

Obito's eyes lit up, and he resumed his remarkably obnoxious persona. "Really? Great!"

"I've been needing to practice with my kunai anyway," Rin added.

Kakashi snorted, and I rolled my eyes. Accuracy was pathetically easy, but I'd have to be wary of Obito's aim. He seemed a little too spontaneous to be aloud to throw around sharp objects.

"Well, it seems our two resident jonin are a little overconfident," Minato said, smirking, and my eyes widened slightly.

"Two jonin?" I repeated nervously. I'd known Kakashi had already been promoted to jonin level, but the rest of us were still genin. But Minato couldn't be talking about himself, could he?

He grinned at me and nodded.

"Yes, Aoi, two. I tried to tell you guys I was summoned to the Hokage's office but you wouldn't listen… It seems as though Lord Hokage deems it appropriate to promote Miss Aizuko to jonin level. Congrats, kid." He smiled radiantly.

My green eyes bugged out. Jonin? _Me_? But I'd only received my shinobi status _yesterday_!

Minato must've noticed the doubt flit across my face. "Don't worry, the Hokage doesn't make mistakes like that. He must have a whole lot of trust in you if he's willing to recognize your abilities to such a large extent."

"But… But, I—

"Trust me, Aoi. You'll be great; being a shinobi really isn't much different than being an assassin—you just have to be a bit more controlled sometimes."

"Yeah, Aoi, you'll be great!" I looked down, shocked, to meet Obito's confident, encouraging gaze.

"Definitely! We'll be right behind you all the way, no questions!" Rin encouraged, her brown eyes bright.

An emotion I was unable to identify welled in my chest, and my heart seemed to expand. The corners of my lips twitched up into the first little infancy stages of a smile.

"Thanks, guys, that means a lot," I mumbled. I tried to remember that these people weren't my friends. They weren't my friends. They were comrades, nothing more. I could get attached to friends, but not to comrades, not to allies, and that was what these people were. Just comrades. Nothing more.

"No words of encouragement for your teammate, Kakashi?" Minato prompted.

My face flushed and I raised both hands to object. "O-oh, no, that's not necessary, really. He's already let me into his home, I don't need his support, too!"

Obito and Rin stared at me, and it took me a moment to realize what I'd said. Every last drop of blood in my body rushed to my face, and both of my hands smacked over my mouth.

_I didn't just say that. I didn't just say that. I didn't just say that!_

"You're staying at his _house_?" Obito asked incredulously. I shook my head frantically.

"Only for a couple more days, until I find an apartment! It's not permanent, I swear! I'm just staying in the guest room for a couple of nights!" I hurried to explain, wildly waving my hands back and forth in front of me.

Rin's eyes narrowed, but only slightly.

"Do you two have a _thing_?" she asked. Her tone was laced with innocent curiosity, but I could detect a faint underlying menacing, angry note. Was she being… territorial?

"_No_!" Kakashi and I both yelled at once. I leaped from my position in the tree to land easily on the balls of my feet in front of her, pointing up at Kakashi where he was leaning forward in the tree, barely maintaining his crouched position. Rin's question must have startled him.

"I will never—I repeat, _never_—have a thing with him. Ever."

She smiled then, her eyes losing their protective gleam. "Oh, okay. Just checking."

I snorted and crossed my arms. "Alright, moving on. I presume we're practicing on the surrounding trees and _not_"—I shot a warning glance at an innocent-faced Obito—"our teammates?" I asked, turning to Minato, eager to move away from the embarrassing subject of the current location of my residency.

He nodded. "That would be correct. Each of you will be using a tree of your choosing from the surrounding forest. Do not try to hurt each other while practicing. And Obito, Kakashi? You're _both_ in for a beating if you've gone further than quarrelling when I get back." He flashed his teeth and disappeared with a white puff of smoke. When the wind had carried the smoke away, he was gone.


	5. Let The Blood Fall

**Hello again! I am terribly sorry for the late update! I hadn't had the time to get online and add the chapter, so I hope this is a good one! It's not terribly long, so I will attempt to make the next one longer. I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter! Ah! I'm gonna want some reviews on this chapter if I'm going to continue posting the story; I don't want to waste my time if no one's going to read my work! So please, review! It's healthy for the brain. And the heart. And the soul, and any other vital piece of life. Alright, on with the story!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>5<p>

I smirked as soon as Minato disappeared and made a sign—I vanished from the clearing, reappearing in the forest about five minutes away.

Looking around, I strode forward to one of the trees and pushed my fingers against the bark, judging the softness with an experienced touch; this one would do.

"What are you doing?"

I jumped and spun around, gripping a kunai that I'd pulled from my weapons pouch.

Kakashi was leaning against a tree close by, his eyes narrowed suspiciously like he thought I was going to make the trees attack him. I heaved a mental sigh; for all he knew, I would do exactly that. It seemed that for all the trust I lacked in my teammates, it was all shot back at me twofold by a certain silver-haired shinobi.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm testing for the softness of the bark relative to that of human flesh."

His eyebrows rose. "Why?"  
>I laughed. "Figure it out, hotshot, it's not that hard." I turned back to the tree and set the tip of my knife against it and leaned. The kunai slowly sank into the soft wood until only the hilt remained. I pulled another kunai from my pouch and strode to Kakashi's tree. Pressing my fingers into the back once more, I nodded in approval and repeated driving my knife into the stiff wood. It went only halfway in until I couldn't push any longer.<p>

I turned to Kakashi with a confident smirk. "See? If I practice on the other tree, I can judge how hard I need to throw and therefore improve my accuracy; wouldn't want to damage any internal organs on a wanted ninja by throwing too hard, would I? This tree—" I motioned to the stiff-fleshed tree—"would waste my energy by making me throw harder, which would get me into the habit of throwing too hard at an opponent. I can't afford to waste energy."

Kakashi frowned and tested the bark in the same manner I had. His frown deepened. "They feel the same."

I shook my head. "Wrong. _Feel_, Kakashi. Close your eyes and focus your charka into the nerves of your fingers. Feel the bark again."

He stared at me for a second, but reluctantly closed his eyes and focus his energy; blue charka began to course around his fingertips. He pushed his hand against the bark of each tree. His eyes shot open in surprise.

"Your tree is softer."

I smiled. "Yes. It's a trick my father taught me when I was younger. At first, it fascinated me to no end. When I practiced, I felt special, like I knew something everyone didn't, which I guess I did. I didn't fully realize the benefit of having trained with only special trees until my first mission."

My eyes darkened slightly, turn from an emerald green to the color of damp moss after a heavy rain. That first mission had been the hardest, but it had also made me feel accomplished when I stood on the slippery rooftop, rain pouring down upon me, as my ten-year-old self stared down at the lifeless body of the first Anbu Black Ops of many to be killed by Aoi Aizuko, the Shadow Fox of the Leaf. I remembered the thrill of adrenaline that had flowed freely though my veins, the thrilling, crazed moment when my child-like eyes had filmed over with blood-lust. I remembered feeling nothing more than pure, momentary hate for the man who my parents had told me had killed my aunt and uncle, the man who had murdered them out of spite.

"Aoi?"

Kakashi's voice ripped me from my reverie, and my eyes snapped back into focus. I felt something hot and sticky running down my hands, and I raised them to my face, surprised to see crimson blood dripping from my palms from small gashes the shape of my fingernails. The cuts began to sting.

"Ow," I muttered, the word sounding more perplexed than pain-filled.

A warm hand pulled my own away from my face where I was holding them, inspecting them. I looked up in surprise to find Kakashi standing only a few inches away, his brow furrowed in concentration as he began to disinfect and bandage the small wounds.

_Since when was he nice to me?_ I wondered idly, feeling fuzzy and numb from the flashback.

Kakashi finished tying up the bandages on my hands and dropped them. They fell limply to my sides.

"Thanks," I murmured, staring at the ground.

"Just try not to hurt yourself," he returned, backing away towards the bushes at the edge of the small clearing. "I don't want to have to take care of you all the time."

He vanished.

I stared at the spot that he had been standing a few moments ago, already knowing that he had returned to the training grounds with Rin and Obito. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"_I don't want to have to take care of you all the time."_


	6. Ring Around The Karma

**Hey, guys, me again! Just so you know, I've changed my pen name to iCanSeeTheLight, because BlackThunderess was getting on my nerves; I use that for everything. Anyways, this chapter isn't LONG, but it's not really short, either. I hope you guys like it, and don't forget to review!**

**~Melissa**

**These are all kind of late, but here they are:**

**ScatteredSands:** _Thank you! It means a lot that you've taken the time to come back and read my story since I've updated. Hopefully you'll stick around till the end!_

__**Eclair** **Designs:**_ Thank you; you've stuck around, too! I appreciate that._

**Amaya:**_ Wow, thanks! I love it when people tell me that^^_

**Saki0112:** _I'm glad Sky of Blue makes you laugh, 'cause that's what I've been aiming for!_

**Redstarling: **_Here's that update for you! I'm going to try to update a bit more regularly, but I've got two other stories going, so it might be a challenge. I promise I won't discontinue it, though!_

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><p>6<p>

"Who're they?" I asked curiously, pointing to a boy and a girl who were obviously a couple. The girl had long, curly brown hair, and the boy had cropped black hair. They were holding hands and strolling down the street outside the shop Rin and I were in. I'd asked because they looked to be about our age. We were out looking around the shops after training.

Rin giggled. "That's Kurenai Yuuhi and Asuma Sarutobi. They've denied being together for forever but everybody knows they're gonna get married someday."

I frowned—how could they trust someone else so fully?—but didn't press the issue further. Unfortunately, Rin had other ideas.

"Are you jealous?" she asked, sounding genuinely interested.

My eyes widened and I shook my head vigorously. "No, no! They just looked like someone you might know, so…"

She laughed. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, jealous girl."

"I'm not jealous!"

"Yeah, you keep saying that."

"I'm _not_ jealous!"

"Uh-huh."

I sighed in defeat. "Whatever. I'm not going to convince you otherwise."

"Nope."

"I'm back, Kakashi," I called out as I closed the door to his apartment.

No response.

"Kakashi?"

Nothing.

"Kakashi Hatake, if you don't answer me _right now_ and I find that you're here, I'm going to show you what a swirly looks like!"

Silence.

I frowned and strode forward to Kakashi's bedroom, throwing open the door—there was Kakashi, lying on his bed. But he didn't look like he could've answered me if he tried, even if he was awake.

"Kakashi!" I cried, leaping forward.

He was covered in cuts and bruises, and blood was covering half of his face as it dribbled from a gash in his forehead. His arm was bent at an odd angle, and I was sure it was broken. Blood, sweat, and dirt was caked all over his skin and clothes and hair, but I was positive that under the grimy layer of all that, his skin was pale. He wasn't breathing. Why wasn't he breathing?

"Kakashi!" I wailed again, fluttering my hands over him as I tried desperately to decide what to do. Finally, I slipped my arm around his back and hoisted him onto mine. He was heavy, but I could handle it.

Minato-sensei would know what to do.

I leaped from rooftop to rooftop, stumbling every time I landed, but I finally made it to Minato's house. I shifted Kakashi's weight so I could raise a hand to pound on our sensei's door.

The door swung open, and whatever expression Minato's face had held before was lost in a grimace. Without saying a word, he leaned forward and lifted my teammate from my back and took off towards the hospital—and then shifted his path and moved towards the Hokage's office.

_What is he doing?_ My brain demanded of me as my eyes widened. _He needs medical attention!_

Minato burst into the Hokage's office with me hot on his heels.

"Lord Hokage, what is the meaning of this?" he asked seriously, dumping Kakashi's body on to the floor. I flinched and took a step forward, but Minato held me back—the body disappeared in a burst of smoke.

"It was a… a fake?" I stumbled over my words, staring incredulously at the place where Kakashi's clone had been a few moments ago.

In my peripheral vision, I saw the Hokage's head bob in a nod.

"That would be correct, Miss Aizuko."

"Whose work was this?" I asked, my voice dangerously low.

"That would be me."

I turned my head to see Iruna standing in the corner of the room—I must not have noticed him in my desperation to get Kakashi to a hospital.

I remained silent, glaring at him until he began to explain.

"I watched the hand-signs you made when you were doing the clone jutsu, and when I copied it, this was what happened. I went to the Hokage and he ordered me to plant the clone in Kakashi's bedroom in his place. He is safe, still out at the training grounds."

My breaths became heavier with fury. They had tricked me. They had taken my own game and thrown it back in my face—and I had fallen for it.

Minato caught my arms and held me back as I launched myself at Iruna.

"You can't do that!" I screamed, angry tears welling in my eyes. "You can't do that to me!"

"Stop this, Aoi. He's alive, and right where you left him, at the training grounds. They were simply giving you a taste of your own medicine," the Hokage told me, and I turned on him, wheeling so I was facing him.

"It's your fault! Why did you tell him to do that? You don't have the right to do that to me!" I screeched at him, the tears spilling over and running down my face.

"Aoi, calm down," Minato said quietly, and I slumped to my knees on the ground, staring at my hands in my lap.

"They can't do that," I whispered, struggling against a sob.

A warm hand was placed on my shoulder, and I looked up to meet Minato's vibrantly blue eyes. They were filled with kindness and understanding. He didn't say anything—didn't need to. Everything was said in the gesture.

I sniffled, rubbing at my eyes with a palm of my hand, and I stumbled to my feet.

"If we're done here, I need to go," I muttered, disappearing before anyone could protest.

I raced through the village, heading straight for the training grounds. I just needed to see that he was okay. I just needed to make sure that they weren't lying to me.

Landing with a quiet thump in a tree at the edge of the training clearing, I scanned the area for the familiar silver flame that would tell me where my teammate was.

There he was, maybe a hundred and fifty yards away, practicing what looked to be a lightning-style jutsu. I frowned, watching him build up chakra, and then white-blue lightning crackled from his hand. He leaped forward and drove his fist into the side of a boulder, leaving a deep crater that demolished nearly half of the thing.

Kakashi was gasping for breath, and I took a moment to look at his chakra signature—he had barely any left.

I leaped from the tree and landed sixty yards away, walking slowly towards him.

"I wouldn't try that again," I called out, and his head whipped towards me, charcoal eyes widening in surprise. I felt a little burst of satisfaction in my chest knowing that he hadn't known I was there.

"What are you doing here? I thought you went shopping with Rin," he forced in between gasps, and I shrugged.

"I did, but I ran into Minato on the way home and he said you were still training, so I figured I'd come and see why."

His eyes narrowed a bit, the only indication that he was frowning beneath his mask. "Well, if you're done being an audience, could you leave?"

I grinned impishly. "Only if you come with me; you're going to hurt yourself if you keep training today. You don't have enough chakra to keep going. C'mon."

His frown deepened, but I heard him following when I turned to leave, so I kept going.

We were both silent on the way back to the apartment, but once we were standing in the living room, Kakashi turned to me, his signature smirk on his face.

"So, this is home to you, huh?"


	7. Freedom Given

**The first thing I have to say is that I am SO SORRY this took so long! It was absolutely inexcusible. I know I'm horrible at updating. The only thing I have to say is that I'm still in middle school and homework has gotten in the way of my writing. I promise to try and be a better updater, but I can't make promises. Anyway, this chapter goes kind of fast, and I know that it might be a little bit choppy and rushed, so I apologize. Oh, and I've changed my pen name- it used to be BlackThunderess, but it is now iCanSeeTheLight. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>7<p>

"Aoi."

I moaned, rolling away from the voice and throwing an arm over my face to shield my eyes from the blindingly bright light that filtered into my room through the blinds.

"Get up, Aoi," Kakashi said again, his voice blank.

"No," I groaned. "This is my day off. Go away."

The warm sheets that had been originally wound around my body to keep me warm were tugged away, flooding my senses with cold air. My eyes flew open, and I sucked in a breath.

"Dammit, Kakashi, I was sleeping! What do you want?" I demanded angrily, glaring at the silver-haired shinobi who stood at the foot of my bed, a fistful of blankets held tightly in one hand. He looked irritated.

"We have work to do. Get up."

"No!" I argued, sitting up. "Minato-sensei gave us the day off from training and I haven't gotten enough sleep lately because of all the little stupid missions we've been doing. Let me rest."

The shadow of his mask shifted to show that he was frowning. "You can sleep later. We have to go meet with the Hokage."

"Oh, bite me. I don't owe that old geezer anything."

"You owe him your life," Kakashi muttered accusingly. I gasped.

"I do not! I didn't even want to become a part of a team anyway; he forced me into this. The least he could do is let me sleep in."

"You _have_ slept in. It's almost three in the afternoon," Kakashi growled, pointing to the bright red numerals of my alarm clock. They did indeed read 2:47 PM.

I fought down a sigh of frustration. I didn't need this. I really just wanted to sleep to my heart's content for just one day. I'd gotten to do that all I wanted back home. I missed that.

_It's not home anymore,_ I reminded myself, the left corner of my mouth drooping a little in sorrow.

Kakashi sighed in frustration, bringing a hand up to scrub through his hair. "Look, this is only going to take a few minutes. Then you can come back and sleep for the rest of the day, for all I care."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, fighting back the annoyance that bit at my chest. "Fine," I relented, opening my eyes again. Before Kakashi could say anything, I had leaped from my bed and pushed him out the door, slamming it in his face so I could change.

_This is going to be annoying._

Over the past few months since I'd joined Team Minato, the Hokage had requested several times that I come to see him. I had refused almost every time, and twice the Hokage had needed to send Minato to the apartment to retrieve me. This time, he had better have had a good reason for waking me up in the middle of my sleep. Lord knew how much of _that_ I'd gotten since my family had been arrested.

I'd come to regard Kakashi's apartment as home, and had claimed the guest bedroom for my own. Having my own apartment had eventually drifted out of the question. It had taken Rin and Obito awhile to adjust to the idea of having two of their teammates living together, and it had taken awhile for me to convince Rin that Kakashi and I were not in any way, shape, or form romantically involved, but eventually they had gotten the picture. Minato had found the entire situation rather amusing, much to my irritation.

We hadn't gone on any real missions, and I was beyond sick of the petty little D-rank missions that were mostly made up of community service and chasing down some runaway pet—once we had even had to locate a runaway hamster that had gotten away from some woman's son. That one had been interesting. Let's just say that Obito doesn't like hamsters anymore, and he has a funny-shaped scar close to his armpit.

Once I'd finished changing, I pulled my hair into a low side-ponytail and opened my door to find one impatient Kakashi standing in the hallway.

"Are you done?" he asked sarcastically. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, loser."

* * *

><p>"Team Minato, nice to see you again," Lord Hokage said warmly, smiling at the three teenagers and the middle-aged man in front of him.<p>

"Lord Hokage," the other three replied without hesitation.

"Old snot," I muttered under my breath, earning a subtle—but painful—kick in the shin from Rin. I stifled a grunt, but didn't say anything.

There was silence for a moment, but finally the Hokage opened his mouth and began to speak.

"How has everything been going with the new addition to the team?"

The question was quite obviously directed at Minato, but before he could reply, Obito opened his big mouth.

"Oh, everything runs a lot more smoothly now. Kakashi and I don't even fight as much. I think she should stay."

My eyes opened wide at his words. That was probably the most mature—and flattering—thing I had ever heard come from the boy's mouth. I glanced at Minato to see his reaction, but he was just smiling widely, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

"Wait a second, wait a second," Rin exclaimed, raising her hands to create a T in the universal sign for 'time out'. "What do you mean 'she should stay'? She's not going anywhere."

"Actually, the last few months have been a test to see whether or not Aoi was a good addition to your team." The Hokage turned to me, grinning. "You passed."

I felt numb. They had been testing me this whole time? Testing me, and I hadn't even known it? I should have tricked Minato into letting me take more information!

"Aoi?" Minato asked, sounding worried.  
>"I'm fine," I mumbled distantly, swaying a little. Flames, how much more <em>normal<em> was I going to get?

_No! You're not becoming normal! Normal shinobi are weak and susceptible and clumsy! You've been better than them since you were ten; you can handle this!_

"Aoi, are you okay?"

It was Rin this time.

The room stopped spinning and I felt my hands loosen their grip on the cloth of my shirt.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just surprised is all. Are we done here?"

"Yes, Team Minato may leave."

I turned to walk out the door with the rest of my team, but the Hokage stopped me.

"Not you, Aoi. I need to speak to you for a moment."

"Um, you just dismissed Team Minato. Last time I checked, I was a part of Team Minato, and therefore I have been dismissed."

"Not quite yet."

I sighed, turning my back on the door that was my blessed escape. If only I could leave now.

"Can you make this quick? My bed and I had a bad breakup and I'd like to go and make amends," I told him sarcastically, sneering.

Lord Hokage smiled and nodded. "Certainly. This will only take a minute." When I raised my eyebrows as a prompt for him to continue, he obliged. "Last week, the trial for your parents was held. They were found guilty of betrayal to their village and indirect murder. They have been sentenced to death."

I cringed at the word 'death'. In the very bottom of my heart, I knew that I had always known they were going to get the death-sentence; with everything they'd done, there was simply no possible way to get out of it. Knowing they were going to be dead soon still hurt, though.

"Why are you telling me this?" I demanded, my voice cracking a little.

"Because you have a choice, Aoi. In a few weeks, all remaining family you have left will be dead, and therefore you will have no remaining tethers to the Leaf Village. You may leave, if you so wish. You have two weeks to make a decision.

"Dismissed."


	8. Set Me Free

**Hello, everyone, Light here! I am getting tired of having to apologize for not updating sooner, so if I forget to apologize, just assume it's intended. I got a laptop for my fourteenth birthday, so I might be able to update sooner than I usually do because I don't have to go through all the trouble of moving the documents from my old, crappy laptop onto the home computer. This chapter is definitely not one of my best, but I wanted to come up with something to give you guys. So, on to the chapter!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>8<p>

This was it. If I wished, I could leave. I could leave all of this behind. I could leave and never come back.

I could leave.

The answer to my situation seemed obvious enough. I should leave, instead of tethering myself to this stupid village like a prisoner. I'd done it enough damage; being on the inside would be an insult to myself and what would soon be left of my family. But something—some small, irrelevant piece of me—longed to stay. Longed to be here, and have friends, and be accepted despite everything I'd done and all the grief I'd brought to the families of so many.

But that part of me was still small and still irrelevant. Thinking back on it, I added irrational to the list. I didn't need to stay here—hell, I didn't even _want_ to be here. Or, I shouldn't want to be here.

_Home? This place is no home. This is heaven, and you are a demon. You belong in hell._

It wasn't encouraging to think that I was potentially leaving heaven, but it was true, and I was never one to lie to myself. Sometimes I wondered if that was a bad thing.

Instead of heading back home after the little conference with the Hokage, I flew over the rooftops towards the gates of the village. I wanted out. I wanted out of this place and I wanted out now. I wanted to know first what it would be like to have to live out on my own, a fugitive until I found my place in a new village, or at least until I found a decent place to call home.

When I finally found my way a few miles away from the village, I lurched to a stop in a tree, balancing easily on a thin branch towards the top where I could look out over the top of the forest. In the distance to the south, if I squinted, I could barely see the rising walls of the Leaf Village. I looked around, then scolded myself for doing so. I was surrounded by trees and only trees. What was going to attack me, a crow? Rogue ninja? Like they'd dare. I would slaughter them all, and my hands would be spotless by the time I was finished.

_What the hell am I supposed to do now? Look for food?_ I wondered, cursing at myself for not thinking to bring a pack or tent. I'd have to make everything from scratch. _Everything_.

I leaped down from my perch to land with a soft, inaudible _thump_ on the dirt below. It was a great deal darker down here than up higher, but I supposed that was to be expected. That meant it would get darker faster, which meant there was a greater chance of being ambushed sooner than I would normally expect.

_Ruling out attack one minute and then expecting it the next? What kind of a ninja are you?_ I asked myself, scowling while I began searching for a place I might be able to use for shelter for the night. _The kind that's invincible but only because she's careful, _I answered a moment later.

After searching for a couple of hours, I found a large outcropping a rock with a divot large enough for me to have a little extra space but small enough that it was inconspicuous. I would have to rely on the trees for protection from the rain.

Once I'd lined the floor of my little space with dried leaves, I retreated back into the forest to look for something to eat. Eventually I found some berries and mushrooms, most of which were edible and non-poisonous, and I even managed to kill a rabbit with a kunai. Tonight, I would eat well.

* * *

><p>Four days later, I was surviving better than I had expected, but it was still pretty miserable. It had rained the night before, and some of the rain had made my bed all wet. I'd shivered my way through the night second by second.<p>

That morning, I was laying the leaves of my bed out to dry when he showed up. I had been hoping to see Kakashi—he of all people understood me better than anybody else—but instead, Minato had showed up. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was him perched easily on a branch a few feet up on the tree behind me; his chakra signature was recognizable enough. Rather than turn to face him and demand what he wanted, I ignored him and continued setting out the leaves.

After five minutes, I spoke.

"It won't do you any good to stand up there if you aren't going to do anything," I called over my shoulder. I could practically feel my sensei's impish grin.

"I wouldn't say that. I like it up here. It's got a nice view," he replied. A soft, barely audible _thump_ announced his departure from his tree.

I stood and turned to him, an expectant expression plastered across my face. In all honesty, I'd been hoping someone would find me out here. I was beginning to miss things like toilets and refrigerators and my dear sweet bed that I'd never been able to return to. Maybe he'd be able to convince me into returning to the village. _Maybe_. I could find all of those things in a different village, should I choose to start over with a clean slate.

I sighed. "What do you want, Minato?"

He smiled kindly down at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "You belong in the Leaf, Aoi. It's your home. Rin and Kakashi and Obito and I all want you to stay; we're your family now. You won't find family like us in another village. In other places—Suna, Kiri, Kuma—they won't accept you. They'll think you're a spy and to them, that's what you'll always be. It won't be home; it'll be jail."

"Yeah? Well maybe jail is what I deserve. I've killed so many people, after all," I retorted bitterly, looking at my feet.

"Not everybody in the village knows that. Only us, the Hokage, and some people whose knowledge of you is mandatory. People who see you around the village don't know anything; they just think you're another one of those new shinobi who pops up every now and then with extraordinary potential and capability. To them, you're special. To any other village, you're dirt."

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement," I muttered dryly. I paused before saying, "I'll think about it. I still need a few more days before I'll make a decision."

Minato smiled again. "Will you at least come back to the village with me?"

"Only because I miss peeing somewhere clean," I laughed.

"Deal."


	9. Drip

**Not going to apologize for the late update AGAIN, because I've done that way too many times and I would assume that most people have grown tired of it. So instead of a long author's note, here's the chapter!**

**~Melissa**

* * *

><p>9<p>

It was still cold outside from last night's rain, and I was still only wearing the fishnet shirt over the tee and shorts, but I didn't want to open the door and walk into the apartment. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Sad? Would he want me to get out? What if he yelled at me?

_Drip._

I looked up, hearing the dripping noise that signaled the rise of a storm.

_Drip._

A drop of rain landed on my nose.

_Drip._

Another on my cheek beside my eye.

_Drip._ _Drip. Drip._

The rain started pouring, but I didn't care. I stood away from the overhang over the door. I stood in the rain, but I was no longer shivering with cold. I was no longer shivering at all. My face still raised to the clouds, I felt a lump rise in my throat.

I wanted to go home. I wanted to feel safe in my family's old house. I wanted to see my father's look of approval when I returned from a mission. I wanted to see my mother's knowing smile that she passed over the dinner table. I wanted to see Ayame, wanted her to hug me and rock me like she used to do when I was little.

I cried.

I don't know how long I stood like that, my eyes rimmed pink, my face raised to the rain with tears and water streaming down my face as I was soaked through. It seemed to be forever.

"Aoi?"

I turned around, and there was Kakashi, his charcoal eyes dark with worry, a forgotten grocery bag hanging from his left hand. Not saying anything, we just stared at each other. We heard nothing but the steady _drip drip drip_ of the rain. And yet, even with the noise, the silence seemed to stretch out forever.

He moved then, suddenly, striding forward and throwing open the door. "Get inside," he muttered. I didn't wait to be asked twice, afraid of what would happen if I did.

Inside, it was much quieter. Peaceful, even. The house clean, just as I had left it. It didn't look like Kakashi had eaten much since I'd been gone, but then again, he never really ate much in the first place. I didn't know what the foul smell was, but I assumed that he had forgotten to drink all the milk and then didn't throw it out when it went sour—again. I wondered for a moment why I had bought milk in the first place.

I was pulled from my thoughts of the house's condition when Kakashi dropped the bag with a soft _thump_ and sat down hard on the couch. I didn't think, just plopped down beside him and stared at the floor, my hands folded in my lap. Water dripped from the hem of my shirt onto the couch, but I didn't notice. I just stared.

Finally, Kakashi sucked in a breath and spoke. "Where have you been?"

This was not something I particularly wanted to answer, but I spoke anyway. "The forest, about ten miles away or so."

"And you didn't think to leave a note that you were going on a solitary camping trip? What's going on?"

I was silent for a few minutes, but finally gathered up my courage to whisper three words. "I can leave."

When he didn't reply after a few seconds, I looked up. Kakashi was staring hard at his hand, which was clenched into a tight, white-knuckled fist on the arm of the couch. His eyebrows were pulled together in a frown.

"Leave?" he choked out, not looking at me. I wasn't sure whether or not I was supposed to answer that. "_Leave_? The one person who is a constant in my life and now you're _leaving_?"

_He's getting emotional,_ I realized with a start. _Kakashi never gets emotional._

"I never said that," I said gently, laying a hand on his arm. "It's just an option."

"Don't leave."

My eyes jerked from his hand to his face in surprise. He was staring at me with hard, determined eyes. He must have been alone most of his life, I realized. He must have gotten so used to people leaving that he learned not to grow attached to them. But somehow, he'd become attached to me.

"I…"

"Don't leave," he said more forcefully, grabbing my upper arms. My eyes widened.

"Kakashi, let go…"

"Aoi, don't leave me. Stay here."

"I'm not going anywhere. Now let go," I said, as if scolding a child. He looked at the grip that he'd had on my arms, and immediately pulled away, standing abruptly and disappearing into his room. I was left alone in the silent darkness of the living room, with the quiet _drip drip drip_ of the rain as my only comfort.

_Drip, drip, drip._

_Drip._


	10. The Nature of Family

Kakashi didn't leave his room until early the next morning, and he was stoic as ever. Rather than tell me where he was going, he simply scratched a few words on to a piece of ripped, tattered paper and taped it to the refrigerator door, as if I weren't seated on the same spot on the couch where he'd left me the previous night.

I hadn't moved from my place on the couch since he'd stormed to his room; sleep deprivation had been inevitable, I suppose. I'd gotten maybe two hours, maximum. My muscles were stiff and aching from lack of movement, but I didn't notice it all that much. Nothing seemed to matter, except for the choice splayed in front of me: leave my friends- what had come to be my _family_- behind, or move on to someplace new and begin again.

As I pondered the fork in my path of life, I forced myself up from the couch and trudged to the fridge, where I examined Kakashi's short letter.

_Going training._

_Will be at the grounds if you need anything._

_Don't drink the milk, it went bad three days ago._

_-Kakashi_

My lips twitched up at the edges, shaping into a small smile as my eyes flicked over Kakashi's hasty scrawl several more times. I reached up with gentle fingers and tugged the note off of the door. When the tape came with it, several small pieces of paper fluttered softly to the floor, and my eyes widened in surprise as I realized that they were all notes from over the past few days.

_He was telling me where he would be in case I came back while he was gone,_ I realized, a guilty lump rising in my throat. Slowly, almost as if I were afraid the notes would dissolve if I touched them too quickly, I kneeled beside the small pile of scratch paper and read through one after the other.

Unknowingly, tears rose in my eyes and began to slide down my cheeks. He had left these notes for me, in case I returned. He had left these notes, knowing that it was possible that he would never see me again.

They told the story of Kakashi over the last few days. Most of the notes just said he was going to the training grounds to practice his chidori, but one said there was a team meeting he was attending, another that he was leaving for Ichiraku's. The most recent, I assumed, was the one that explained that he was going grocery shopping. A small laugh rose in my chest as I read the apology for not knowing exactly what to get but that he would do his best.

By the time I'd finished reading the letters, I realized that I couldn't just leave these people behind. Since my family was dead- or would be dead soon- my team _was_ my family, and though Kakashi wouldn't admit it, it was the same way for him.

My mind made up, I leaped to my feet, swiped away the tears, and leaped for the door, determined to catch Kakashi.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi!" I yelled, seeing the familiar electric white-blue light of his chidori. "Kakashi!"<p>

The light dimmed, revealing a scratched up, panting boy. His dark eyes were hardened, his eyebrows furrowed, whether in frustration or concentration, I couldn't tell.

"Kakashi," I panted, slowing to a walk a few feet from him. "I found all those notes that you left. I found them, and I realized something when I read them. I realized that you're... you're all my family now. My family is dead, and now you guys have taken their place, and I would be stupid to leave you and Obito and Rin and Minato sensei behind, all for a new beginning, because you _are_ my new beginning." My emerald gaze met his charcoal one, and I saw hope roiling deep in the slate of his eyes. "If this is where you are, then this is my home. I won't leave my home behind, not when this is where I belong."

My teammate remained silent, eyeing me quietly for several minutes. Finally, he sighed and reached up to scratch his head. "Sensei needs to test your chakra nature. I'd suggest you go find him."

I laughed, knowing this was his way of saying _I'm glad you're staying._

"Do you know where he is?" I questioned, though I already figured I knew where he would be.

"The Hokage's office was the last place I saw him."

I nodded, thinking, _That's what I suspected._ This was good, I could kill to birds with one stone since I needed to inform the Hokage of my decision to stay. "What is he testing our chakra types for?" I wondered aloud, tilting my head in thought.

Kakashi chuckled. "Obito, Rin, and I have been learning jutsu specific to our chakra nature, hence the chidori for me. I'm a lightning type. Rin was earth, and Obito was fire, which wasn't surprising considering his blood line."

I nodded in understanding, remembering the characteristic trait among the Uchihas. Obito always seemed the fiery type anyway. Thinking of Rin and Obito, I blurted, "Where are they, anyway?"

"Who?"

"Rin and Obito."

He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "Rin has been focusing more on healing jutsu than anything, so she's probably at the library reading about it. My best bet for Obito is that he's goofing off somewhere or eating at Ichiraku's."

_That would be just like him, wouldn't it?_ I laughed internally, pivoting my body to signal my departure for the Hokage's office. My hand raised instinctively in a half-wave as I walked calmly away, a small smile on my face.

This was where I belonged.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Aoi, good to see you!" Lord Hokage said cheerfully, a welcoming smile spread over his face. I waved half-heartedly.<p>

"Old coot," I muttered in return.

"I trust you've come to a decision about whether or not you are going to remain within the village?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded, fiddling impatiently with a loose string along the hem of my shirt. Minato sensei wasn't here. "Yeah. I'm staying."

"Excellent!" the Hokage cheered. I resisted the urge to shudder. I'd never met someone so happy in my entire life, and it was utterly irritating.

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled dismissively. "Where's Minato sensei? He's usually around here somewhere."

The Hokage grinned a little. "Oh, you were looking for him? He just left. I believe he said something about going to check on you, actually. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him before he gets to your apartment."

I nodded in thanks. "Yeah, okay. See you later, old fart." I was out the door before he could reply to my remark.

* * *

><p>I found Minato sensei just outside the door to Kakashi's apartment, appearing to be pondering the door. Suppressing a laugh, I crept up behind him and pressed a hand over his mouth, kidnapper style.<p>

Reacting the way only a trained ninja would, he reached back over his shoulder to grab my arm, flipping me over his shoulder. I twisted in the air to land easily in front of him, a triumphant smirk on my face.

"You shouldn't let me sneak up on you like that, sensei," I scolded him teasingly, and he grinned good-naturedly.

"Yeah, I suppose not, huh? I was just wondering where you were, since you weren't inside."

One of my eyebrows arched up to my hairline. "You were inside?"

Minato scoffed. "Of course not, I don't just barge into people's houses." _Right._ "Your chakra signature just wasn't anywhere near here, and I have a blind spot behind me."

"Right, right," I laughed. "That's why you couldn't tell that I was standing right behind you."

"It's true," he pouted, reminding me of Ayame when she didn't get her way. I suppressed a teasing remark and decided to get down to business.

"Alright, so Kakashi mentioned something about a chakra nature test?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah, I tested the others awhile ago, but I'd forgotten about needing to test you until just a little bit ago."

I frowned in thought. "What's the test? Do you draw blood, or do I need to focus my chakra somewhere special?"

"No, it's much simpler than that," he laughed, pulling a sheet of paper and holding it out to me. I studied it apprehensively, noticing that it was blank.

"What's that?"

"Just take it. It will tell you what your nature is."

"How?"

The blond man huffed irritably. "Take the paper, Aoi."

Reluctantly, I reached forward and grabbed the paper, reaching out with my chakra to try and read what was so special with the paper. When the paper went limp and became damp, dripping water over my fingers, I recoiled in surprise and dropped the paper into a soaking wad on the ground. Perplexed, I stared at Minato sensei.

"What was that?"

My sensei grinned. "Water."


	11. When Provided

Brow furrowed, I stared at the wet glob of pulpy paper lying at my feet. "I don't understand."

Minato laughed. "The paper reacts to your chakra and shows your nature accordingly. It only works when you run your chakra through it, but I figured you'd do that on your own and I wouldn't need to tell you. It looks like I was right."

"How did the paper react to the others?" I wondered, staring up at the clear blue sky in thought.

"Kakashi's paper crinkled, Rin's crumbled, and Obito's burst into flame," he offered, smiling kindly.

Slowly, I lowered my gaze back to Minato's face, searching it for some kind of sign of what this was all about.

"What did your paper do?"

He shrugged and reached back into his vest pocket, pulling out another sheet of paper. He held it carefully, staring thoughtfully at the blank, smooth sheet for a few moments before it tore in half in his fingers. He looked back at me knowingly. "I'm wind."

Resisting the urge to laugh, I said, "That means we're all different types. What are the odds of that?"

"It's pretty common for a team to be made up of all different chakra types, actually. Usually a person's chakra type corresponds with their personality, and teams are rearranged to work well together because of their differences. It makes for a balanced and powerful team," Minato told me, reaching up to scratch his head like he often did when he was trying to explain something.

I nodded. _That makes sense._ "So that means we'd be good on a real mission, right?" I asked, trying to be subtle about hinting at harder missions.

Minato grinned. "That's the thing. The team's been assigned a mission that will take place in the Hidden Cloud village, and it's a B-rank mission, much harder than your C's and D's."

"You mean we're going on a real mission? When?" Now I was excited. Finally, a _real_ mission!

"I'll give the details at the next team meeting at Ichiraku's tonight. I've already left notes at Obito and Rin's houses, but I trust you can pass on the message to Kakashi?"

"Of course, sensei!" I exclaimed, using the honorific for the first time in my excitement. Shattering the self-image of "stoic, calm, and cool" that I'd somewhat built up, I bounced eagerly on the balls of my feet,already planning to go straight to downtown to buy more travel-esque clothes and re-stock my weapons. I was going to need a new short-sword, of course...

"Alright, I'll see you later at Ichiraku's, Aoi," Minato laughed. "Seven o'clock, don't forget."

"I won't, sensei!" I called as I watched him jump quickly from rooftop to rooftop, heading in the general direction of his apartment.

* * *

><p>When I returned home from downtown with new clothes and a full restock of weapons, including a new short sword and some scrolls, I found Kakashi waiting patiently on the couch, staring blankly at a fuzzy ramen commercial on the television.<p>

"It's about time you got home," he muttered. "We're going to be late at this rate."

"It's fine," I replied nonchalantly, waving a dismissive hand. "Sensei is late all the time. Anyway, I just need to change and then we can go."

He turned to look at me and raised a curious eyebrow. "Change?"

I held up the bag and grinned. "More versatile than the ripped up clothes I'm wearing now. And I got this awesome new sword that I wanna show off."

Kakashi rolled his eyes but motioned for me to go change, probably so we could get on the way. Most likely, he was hungry, but he would never show it. I wasn't even sure if it was physically possible for him to pass gas in any way, or for his stomach to growl. He seemed to be endlessly stoic.

* * *

><p>"I have an announcement to make," Minato declared as he set down his ramen bowl, now drained of broth and noodles.<p>

Kakashi, for the most part, ignored our sensei, though I could tell that he was listening by the way his eyes shifted slightly in Minato's direction before redirecting themselves back at his dinner. How he managed to get his mask down and eat without us seeing was beyond me, unless he put up some kind of genjutsu. Thinking about it, that idea did seem like a clever way to keep his face hidden...

Rin and Obito turned to Minato, Obito with excitement and eagerness over his face, Rin with a simply expectant expression.

Minato grinned knowingly at me before addressing the team as a whole.

"We've been assigned a mission."

Kakashi pushed a slice of pork from one end of his bowl to the other. "So?"

"It's a B-rank."

Immediately, all attention was directed on our sensei.

"No way!" Obito exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down in his chair. "A _real_ mission! Finally! It took Lord Hokage long enough!"

Rin nodded. "I have to agree with Obito on this one. I think we could have handled a B-rank a while ago. Where are we going with this one?"

Kakashi answered for Minato, still staring boredly into his broth. "The Village Hidden in the Clouds."

"How did you know that?" Minato asked, his voice high in surprise.

"I heard you talking to Aoi outside the apartment earlier. You really need to work on knowing when there's genjutsu being performed, sensei. You're getting rusty."

_He hid his chakra signature using genjutsu? That's impressive. I've never thought of that... _I thought to myself, making a mental note of the technique before promptly laughing at my sensei's expense.

Minato scowled. "You little ass..." he muttered before continuing. "Anyways, we're leaving in two days, so I want you guys to be ready, alright?" His vibrant blue gaze swept over us, establishing eye contact with each of my teammates and I in turn to be sure that we'd heard him.

Obito spoke up, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "How come Aoi got to know before the rest of us?"

"It slipped out when she asked about my reasoning behind the chakra-nature test," our sensei answered with an unconcerned shrug. "I wouldn't be too worked up about it if I were you, Obito, she's got only two days left to master the jutsu she will be assigned shortly. You've already completed your practices with the Fireball jutsu, yes?"

The young Uchiha scratched the back of his neck modestly, an embarrassed expression passing over his sharp features. "Um, well, not exactly, I've still got a little ways to go..."

"Then I suggest you get to practicing," Minato suggested with a nod of his head in the direction of the training grounds. Obito laughed sheepishly and stood to make his leave.

"I'd better join him," Rin mumbled. "I've been spending too much time in the library reading about medical ninjutsu to have time to practice my Mud Wall Jutsu..."

Kakashi just smirked under his mask, remaining silent until our sensei turned to him.

"And what of you, Kakashi?"

"I've already mastered the chidori. I've been increasing my endurance since than so I can execute more than one within a small time-span. I've reached two, maximum, as of three days ago."

I raised my eyebrows in alarm. _A person can almost feel the vibrations of the chakra in the air when he executes that jutsu. It takes up a phenomenal amount of chakra. How can he use it twice even in one day, let alone within a few minutes of each other, without being dead at this very moment?"_

Minato's expression of surprise mirrored mine closely. "That's impressive, Kakashi, but don't overwork yourself. Why don't you take the next couple of days to help Aoi with her jutsu?"

"I'm sure I can master it myself," I said icily before Kakashi could reply. "I'm a fast learner and I've got plenty of chakra to spare. My skill level is high, that's been proven already by my past experiences."

My sensei let out a laugh. "You're too cocky for your own good, Aoi. That's why I've chosen a B-rank jutsu for your assignment."

I raised a single eyebrow and opened my arms in the classic _lay it on me_ gesture. Minato plowed on at my signal.

"The Water Dragon Jutsu."

Kakashi's mouth dropped open behind his mask. "Sensei, you've got to be kidding! She can't master that in two days! It took me nearly a week to get even a weak chidori to form- a jutsu of the same level can't be mastered in that little time, even by someone with her experience and skill level!"

The corners of my mouth drooped down southward in irritation. "I'll master this jutsu in plenty of time, good sir, and you can count on that." My words dripped with defiance. I would prove him wrong. I'd have this jutsu down so well that I could write a book about it in my sleep by the morning we left for the Village of Clouds.

"That's the spirit!" Minato cheered with a grin, tipping his ramen bowl back to drain it of the last of the broth before standing. "I'll meet you two at the front gate two days from now, an hour before dawn. Good luck to you- and Aoi, do try your best not to die, okay?" He chuckled knowingly before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

I hadn't noticed the paid bill lying on the counter until a few moments after my sensei had left.

* * *

><p>"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked tiredly from his sprawled position on the couch. I was halfway through the door, grey messenger bag slung over my shoulder. I turned my head over my shoulder to look back at him as I answered.<p>

"The library. I'm going to find a couple of books about this Water Dragon jutsu and read up on it tonight. Practice begins tomorrow." I turned and had the door almost closed before something stopped it, pulling the large slab of heavy wood back. I spun around in surprise, having not expected the sudden halt in my journey.

"Aoi, wait," Kakashi said softly, holding the door open. He stood closer than I would have guessed, only a few inches away. His charcoal eyes were soft with a sort of understanding, and his voice was low, reminding me of distant thunder in the brewing of a storm. "Let me help you."

"I-"

"You won't master this on your own in only fifty-one hours, less than that if you allow yourself food, hydration, sleep, and rests in between practices. Let me help you."

I stared up at him, shocked at his offer of assistance. "Why do you want to help me?"

He seemed to search my eyes for a moment before replying in a tone that spoke subtly of a cover-up, "Because genjutsu alone will get you nowhere on this mission, and a comrade lagging in physical offensive attacks only serves as deadweight, and we can't have that. If you're coming on this mission, you're going to pull your weight. I'm going to help you accomplish that."

Even though I could sense that this was not his true reason, I could understand the reluctant truth behind his words. If I was to master this technique within the allotted time-frame, I was going to need adequate assistance. Kakashi was the only person in the entire world that could provide what I needed right now.

Nodding reluctantly, I gave in, saying quietly, "Thank you."

Catching my gaze again, he stared at me meaningfully, trying to convey some sort of unspoken message. "Anything you need."


	12. Survival of the Lightest

_Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Serpent, Ox, Ram, Serpent, Boar, Ram, Rat, Ninth, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Serpent, Rat, Monkey, Hare, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Ninth, Rat, Ram, Bird,_ I read, eyes widening at the long list of hand seals necessary to execute the Water Dragon Jutsu.

"Kakashi," I muttered, glancing up to see him watching me curiously. I turned the book so he could read the list of seals. His slate-gray eyes widened slightly in surprise before he looked back up at me.

"Can you memorize that?" he asked, voice laced with doubt.

I shrugged. "I think. I'm better at memorizing than most people, but how am I supposed to do all of those hand seals without messing up, or being interrupted in battle?"

Kakashi shook his head unknowingly. "Minato really did want to challenge you. The chidori only has three symbols, even though it uses up a phenomenal amount of chakra. In battle, we would have to buy you some time... I suppose that's what Rin's Mud Wall could be used for, and of course Obito's Fireball jutsu could be used to defend you and keep the enemies distracted while you build up the Water Dragon..." My teammate trailed off in thought, tilting his head slightly and furrowing his eyebrows as he worked out a strategy in his head.

"The chidori is a use-only-when-needed kind of jutsu, isn't it?" I inquired, jerking him from his thoughts.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's really tiring. It's only to be used when I have no other choice. The Mud Wall can use up a lot of chakra as well, depending on how big the wall is and how long Rin has to hold it up, but Obito's fireball uses next to nothing. It only figures that he would be given the easiest jutsu."

I rolled my eyes. "That depends on how powerful it is. And if he's using it to defend Rin and me while I'm building up my jutsu, then isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, I guess..." he mumbled grudgingly.

"Flames, the feud you two have got goin' on..." I resisted the urge to laugh. Deep down, though, anyone could see that they were comrades at heart. I wouldn't have been surprised if they actually considered the other their best friend. "Well, I think we should head to the training grounds. I can read off the hand signs the first time and then try it on my own, depending on how much chakra is used."

Kakashi rolled the idea around in his head for a while before nodding slowly. "That's a good idea. Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>"...<em>Nae, Ushi, Sara, Tori, Jin, Nae, Ee, Tori!" I shouted, completing the list and appropriate handsigns. The water of the river stirred restlessly, tossing waves violently in all directions before a large, serpentine shape charged out of the water, crashing angrily into the riverbank.

A triumphant grin slowly spread over my exhausted features. Finally, after hours of practice, I'd done it.

"That's it! You did it!" Kakashi called to me from where he was leaning against a tree along the forest-line several yards away. I turned to smile at him, but before I could turn all the way around, my knees buckled beneath me and I tumbled to a heap on the hard ground, unable to stand again for lack of energy.

My vision kaleidoscoped and my surroundings blurred in and out of focus. I barely took note of Kakashi as he appeared, kneeling before me, while I drifted into darkness.

* * *

><p>Soft voices floated through my consciousness as I awoke in a dimly lit room, stretched out on what felt like my bed. It sounded like whoever was talking was a few rooms away, as if the voices were stretching through the walls and worming their way into my brain. Whoever it was must have been talking quietly; I couldn't make out what they were saying.<p>

Snatches of conversation became clear, things like _loss of chakra_ and _must leave soon._

I groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over my head. _Shut up. I'm trying to sleep,_ I thought irritably. Couldn't a person get a decent amount of sleep anymore?

A knock on the wall beside my open door alerted me to the presence of someone in the doorway. I lifted my head and glared around the pillow at the figure of my sensei, my eyesight still blurry from sleep.

"What?" I said, too tired to be bothered to give a proper greeting.

"Are you feeling better?" Minato asked, sounding like his usual cheerful self. I resisted the urge to angrily throw a pillow in his direction, reasoning that I would need it to fall asleep again. And these pillows were so wonderfully comfortable.

"I was feeling fine," I muttered crossly, "when I was blissfully asleep, until I heard talking in the other room."

My sensei regarded me for a moment before sighing. "You're as petulant as ever, Aoi, so I'm going to assume that you are indeed back to normal."

"Was I not normal before?" I asked, wary of his answer.

"Not exactly. How long were you practicing the Water Dragon justu before you fainted?"

Remembrance dawned in my emerald gaze as I recalled the long, strained practices with Kakashi the night before. I had used up the majority of my chakra trying to form the dragon, only finally managing the task in the end.

"Hours," I responded tentatively.

"Seventeen of them, to be exact," Kakashi elaborated as he appeared beside me in a puff of smoke. He must have been unable to join the conversation or enter the room because of Minato's blockage of the doorway.

Minato's eyes widened in surprise. "Without rest or food?"

Kakashi nodded, answering the question for me. "That would be correct. No water, either." He handed me a canteen filled with water that I hadn't noticed he'd been holding. "Drink," he ordered, leaving no room for argument.

Realizing how thirsty I was, I drained the canteen without question, feeling much better as the last of the cool liquid slid down my previously parched, dry throat.

"We leave for the mission tomorrow," Minato stated. "Pack your bags tonight, but travel lightly. Don't bring anything you won't need. Food pills would be a good idea, as I'm not sure what kind of food we'll be able to find in the Cloud Village or on the way and the pills take up much less space. I would suggest cleaning alcohol as well so you can retrieve weapons like shuriken and kunai and reuse them. Taking up space in your bag for weapons' restock is a waste of space and a bad idea. It will only add unnecessary weight to slow you down."

Kakashi and I nodded as we committed our sensei's advice to memory. Already I was mapping out my pack's space usage in my head, dedicating certain spaces to certain things. A couple of sealed scrolls would be wise, one for a weapons blitz and another sealed with water in case I needed to use the Water Dragon jutsu and we were short on large water supply.

"A sleeping bag would be ideal unless you don't have a problem with sleeping on the ground, but bring something small and light. Don't let it slow you down," Minato continued. "If you bring extra clothes, pack only a single pair. Extra clothes, though, are not necessary unless you have left-over space in your pack and want to bring clean clothes in case what you're wearing when we leave gets torn up. Water purification pills would be a good idea; we don't know what gets dumped into the rivers in the other countries and it would be best if we didn't find out through ingestion and poisoning."

_Sounds like this mission might take a while,_ I thought to myself as Minato continued listing ideal items to bring and not to bring. _Must be something important._

When our sensei had finally finished, I'd already decided what I was going to pack and how I was going to pack it. I didn't doubt that Kakashi had done the same. As soon as Minato had left, Kakashi and I departed to pack our backpacks. I was quick and thorough, packing lightly but still fitting everything I could possibly need into my bag. I didn't bother strapping a sleeping bag to my backpack; I could muscle through the night on the ground, and I didn't need the extra weight or awkward position of the sleeping bag compromising my speed.

A change of clothes wasn't necessary either, considering that even though I was still young, I was an elite ninja, if not a bit cocky, and doubted that an enemy could tear me up enough for me to be in need of new clothes.

I met Kakashi by the door as we both dumped our bags beside the front door so we wouldn't have to search for them in the morning. I noticed the absence of a sleeping bag with his things as well. It wasn't likely that Rin and Obito had brought sleeping bags, either, and I doubted that Minato would include a sleeping bag with his things as well.

Even though our team was made up of different personality types, we all had one thing in common: we were ninjas, and most ninjas possessed similar thought processes. Whether this was a good or bad thing, I didn't care to guess at.

"Are you ready?" Kakashi asked, more for the sake of saying something than lack of knowing that I was. He gave a short nod, jerking his head towards the dark red pack I'd leaned against the wall to indicate his meaning.

"Yeah. You?" I asked, returning the favor. He nodded.

"Good."


	13. His Tears

"Wake _up_, dammit!" I growled, smashing Kakashi over the head again with my pillow. "We have to go!"

"Not for another half hour," came the muffled reply. Kakashi's face was buried in his own pillow. I couldn't tell if he was whining or stating a fact, but either way, he was going to get up whether he liked it or not. And we still needed to eat breakfast.

I rolled my eyes and gave him another smack. "We have to eat before we go, and _you_, sir, need to shower. We don't know how long it'll take to get to the village and even then we might not get a chance to clean up until we're home."

"I showered last night."

No, he hadn't.

"Did not," I argued. "You went right to bed. Get in the shower."

"No."

_Fine, if that's the way you want to play._

Reaching down, I grabbed Kakashi under the arms and hefted him, with some difficulty, from his tangled mess of sheets. He reacted immediately, as I knew he would, twisting easily from my grasp and turning to glare at me while crossing his arms over his bare chest. I raised an eyebrow.

"Got you up, didn't I?"

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi stooped to grab a dirty white undershirt.

"Ah," I scolded, kicking his hand away from the shirt. He stood back to his full height and took a step forward, using his extra height to try and intimidate me. His dark eyes frothed with irritation.

"Are you searching for a fight?" he asked dangerously.

"No," I replied shortly. "But I am trying to get you to be clean. Go get in the shower. I'll leave clean clothes on your bed."

"_Fine,_" he snarled sourly, storming out of the room and down the hallway towards the bathroom. I remained where I was until I heard the running water from the shower, then picked my way across his filthy room to the laundry room, where I pulled out a pair of durable black pants and one of his black tees.

Placing the clothes neatly on his bed, I rummaged through his closet until I found the leather X-shaped straps that held up his sword and placed them next to his shirt, along with his Hitai-ate. It took me a few minutes of searching before I found his favorite short-sword, and I placed that beside the leather straps.

"Are you done?"

I turned to see Kakashi standing in the doorway, towel around his waist and mask in his hand. I raised one eyebrow, studying his uncovered face, and was surprised. It was... completely normal. His nose was perhaps a little on the thin side. A thin, barely noticeable scar followed the line of his jaw along the right side, but that was as far as abnormalities went.

He was, however, remarkably handsome.

"What?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. I realized I was staring.

"Oh, um, nothing. It's just that you look really different without your mask." Kakashi's hand flew to his face, eyes widening in horror when he felt flesh rather than cloth. His gaze jerked to the hand holding the mask, and remained there as if he couldn't quite believe that he was indeed not wearing his mask.

I tilted my head, wondering why it was such a big deal that I could see his face. "What's wrong? It's not like you're disfigured."

Kakashi sighed and let his hand drop to his side, looking resigned. He trudged to his bed and sat down heavily; after a moment's hesitation, I sat carefully down next to him, watching as he rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the piece of dark cloth in his calloused hands.

After a long time, he spoke, his voice barely crossing out of whisper territory. "Ever since I was really little, people have told me I looked like my father." He fell silent again.

"If you—

"We were really close for a long time," he cut me off, inadvertently refusing my offer for his secret to remain so. "We used to do everything together. He taught me everything; I graduated the Academy earlier than I should have because he believed in me, and gave me the drive to know more, the hunger for knowledge. My mother died in labor, so it had always been just us... and that was okay."

I felt my eyes soften in sympathy. There was no possible happy ending for this story.

"Just before I graduated the Academy, my dad went out on a mission. I remember exactly what he said to me, the last thing I ever heard him say: "Go ace those finals, kid. I know you'll do great. I'm proud of you!" … I should have said something meaningful. I should have said something that would have made a difference before he left, but I didn't. I watched my dad walk away from me, and I never saw him return... not until the funeral."

A small droplet fell on to the mask, and I looked up at him, startled to see tears sliding down his cheeks and dripping from the end of his nose as he clutched at the cloth. I noticed now that he was shaking.

"This mask was his. He gave it to me as a birthday present and told me that when you're in battle, it's better not to let the enemy see your face. This was the only thing left when he died, the only thing that had meant anything to him that I had. I've worn it every day since his funeral and I have never let anybody see me without it."

"Kakashi..." I murmured, feeling a lump rise in my throat. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "No. Don't be sorry for me. What happened could not have been helped. I—

He broke off as a sob choked off his air, and his head dropped down between his arms, his shoulders hunched as he wept for his father. I didn't know what to do, so I remained still, watching him, ignoring my own tears as they welled in my eyes and spilled over. Tentatively, I reached forward and touched his shoulder, placing it there gently. When I didn't get a response, I took it as acceptance. I waited for the tears and shudders to subside before speaking.

"Hey..." I whispered, squeezing his shoulder. "I know..." I hesitated, struggling to find how to phrase what I wanted to say. "I know you must not think of it this way... but your father... he's proud of you."

Kakashi raised his head and looked over at me with watery eyes. "Why do you say that?" His voice was completely steady now.

I offered him a shy smile. "It was the last thing he ever said to you. And there's no way he could not be proud of where you've gotten now. Fifteen years old, and you're already eligible to become an Anbu. On top of that, you've got friends that care about you, and you care about them. You're a strong, good man, Kakashi. Your father is proud of you."

He shook his head, the corners of his lips twitching upwards at the ends. "You're amazing."

His words shocked me into silence. After a few moments, I let out a grin. "I try."

* * *

><p>"Guys! You're late!" Rin scolded irritably, breaking off from her ranting to Obito. Poor kid. His ears were probably bleeding from the force of her annoyance.<p>

Kakashi and I glanced at each other, having a quick silent conversation before flicking our gazes back to Rin.

"I couldn't find my sword," he covered smoothly, lying through his teeth. He wore his mask again, a little to my disappointment, but if it made him more comfortable, he could have his way with it.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Your place always was a pigsty. You should have gotten everything together before you went to bed."

Neither of us said anything, and our teammate glanced back and forth, studying each of our faces in turn.

"There's something you're not telling us," she said slowly after her careful deduction.

"Yeah, he refused to get his lazy ass out of bed and shower," I teased, elbowing Kakashi in the ribs. He narrowed his eyes irritably at the memory.

Rin didn't look convinced, but let the matter drop. Turning towards Obito and our sensei, she said, "Well, you've kept us waiting about long enough."

"Oh, let it go," Obito muttered. "They're here now." His stomach rumbled angrily; I got the feeling he had skipped breakfast this morning, and that was the reason for his uncharacteristic silence.

"Let's get the show on the road," Minato suggested cheerfully, and I felt my mood droop a little at the attempt to raise everyone's spirits, as always. It was extremely irritating. My thoughts must have shown in my expression, because Kakashi flicked me as we exited the village, and we fell a few feet behind the others.

He leaned towards me and whispered, "Don't worry, it gets at me, too."

I stared at him blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter.


	14. Adrenaline

Grainy, stiff mountain air berated my lungs, which were used to more clear, soft forest breezes. A harsh gust of wind pushed against my body and whipped my hair about my face. I reached a hand out and grasped Rin's arm at the same time she grasped mine, using each other for support.

As my team and I stood atop the crest of a rocky, jutting hill, we surveyed the expanse of the village before us: the Village Hidden in the Clouds.

Indeed, it was a fitting name. We were so high up in the mountains that we had climbed above the billowing tops of the clouds hours ago. Vaguely, I remembered the days we'd had to stop just to allow our bodies to adjust to the impossible altitude and thinning air. Those days had been agonizing, for my teammates as well as myself, and I knew that I was not alone when my legs cried out to carry me onward towards our destination.

But now that we'd reached it, I was unsure whether or not I wanted to remain here.

Little was known of the Cloud Village, I knew this. Ninja of this place remained as mysterious as their origin, speaking rarely and never of themselves nor their village. Cloud ninja in general were few and far between; at least, we never saw them, and if we did we couldn't tell them from everyday townspeople. Once, someone had mentioned the possibility of Cloud ninja being regularly assigned to undercover missions, which I supposed was plausible, perhaps even likely, but somehow just didn't seem to sit right with my mind.

No, there was something secretive about the Cloud Village, and I was possibly about to uncover it.

* * *

><p>"I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps," Obito muttered, sending suspicious glares at every occasional person we passed as we made our way slowly through the village towards the Raikage's tower.<p>

"For once, I agree with Obito. Minato-sensei, there's no people..." Rin said fearfully, eyes darting around the nearly deserted streets in search of any sign of life.

The streets of Kumogakure were indeed very barren of activity. We were nearly halfway through the village and had seen seventeen people total, counting the four women who had barely been shadows out of the corners of our eyes, somehow remaining unseen as they darted their arms out of their windows quickly to pull closed their shutters.

"Something isn't right here..." Minato muttered darkly.

Unknowingly, I drifted closer to Kakashi, finding comfort in the fact that he didn't seem bothered by the absence of life in this place. His fingers reached out and tapped the back of my hand once, and I looked up at him in surprise. He raised an eyebrows and leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

"We're gonna be fine."

I smiled uneasily at him, willing myself to believe what he said. We were here for a mission, right? We just had to get the mission done and get out of here. It would be that easy. I would be back home, warm and safe, in no time.

And then something occurred to me.

"Sensei..." I began tentatively. "What exactly are we doing on this mission?"

Rin glanced at me, eyes widening in surprise as she realized that Minato had not told us what we would actually be doing here—and we'd been so wrapped up in getting prepared and working on our jutsu that we hadn't thought anything of it. But now that we were here, I was concerned that it would be something dangerous... and that we wouldn't be ready.

Don't get me wrong, we were a great team. We were all pretty powerful in our own ways and could handle most of what was thrown at us strength-wise, but we still weren't very coordinated in the teamwork department. We couldn't "read each other's minds," couldn't pay enough attention to the others to "save them in the nick of time." We were all too focused on ourselves in battle to have time to worry about our teammates, and in an ambush or team-against-team fight, we would lose because of it.

And it was too much.

I felt the all-too-familiar sensation of uneasy tension wash over my body, squeezing my chest and tying knots in my stomach. My breathing came in fast, shallow pants, and my muscles felt as though they'd liquified and barely had the strength to allow me to go onward.

I knew this feeling. It was an old friend, the same feeling I got every time I made a kill back when I was a murderer. Part of me flinched at the memory, and part of me wanted to smile and laugh hysterically. Yes, I knew this feeling.

_Adrenaline._

It must have been the thoughts of our lack of teamwork, paired with the stress that one could practically breathe from the air, that brought on this sudden fit of panic. I honestly didn't know what to make of it.

"Hey, hey," Minato muttered, snapping his fingers in my face. I realized that he was standing in front of me, stooping so his blue eyes and my green ones were level.

It was at this moment that I noticed that I was standing stock-still, back straight as though someone had jammed a rod up my backside. Every muscle in my body cramped with tension; my shoulders were rigid, my jaw clamped tightly shut as I fought back either hysterical laughter or bone-chilling screams. My breath was coming in panicked gasps, not allowing my lungs time to take in the oxygen before the air was expelled. I was becoming light-headed.

"What's wrong with her?" Obito asked, voice laced with curious, innocent concern.

"She's freaking out, idiot," Rin snapped in return, sounding distressed at my sudden show of fear. "I don't blame her, either. This place is getting to me, too."

Minato sighed, appearing resigned to what he was about to do. I flinched as he moved, clamping a hand tightly over my mouth and nose. My eyes widened.

_I can't breathe._

My hands shot up, trying desperately to pull his arm away, but he held on tightly as I began to weaken from lack of oxygen. As my lungs began to burn, clarity began to seep into my mind, reminding me that I wasn't helping anybody by breaking down like this. The panic and fear slowly leaked away, but with them drained my energy. My limbs felt heavy and my eyelids drooped low.

I nodded once, twice, and was out.

* * *

><p>I woke several minutes later, the rocking sensation that came when one was being carried causing my head to ache. I never had been fond of movement lacking control on my part.<p>

Struggling to announce that I was awake, the person carrying me set me down, and after one last throb of my head, I felt better. Looking up, I glanced into the familiar iron gaze of Kakashi Hatake, my previous mode of transportation.

He smirked. "Feeling better, Blue Fox?"

Wow, he hadn't called me that in a long while.

I nodded stiffly, rubbing the side of my neck to try and work out a kink. Without waiting for my teammate to catch up, I followed the rest of Team Minato to the doors of the Raikage's building. It seems I had awakened just in time.

I decided not to point out that Minato-sensei had never answered my question as to what we were doing here, presuming that I would find out when we met the Raikage. I hoped idly in the back of my mind that Minato himself knew what exactly our mission was; there were some missions that had to be signed up for before you were allowed to know what it was you would be doing, and part of me knew that Minato was the kind of ninja that would do exactly that.

_But it can't be that bad, right? I mean, it's a B-rank. Tracking, escort... We can do this._

_I think._

"Come inside, quickly, quickly," the Raikage whispered at light-speed, tugging Minato-sensei inside the room, followed easily by Obito, who pulled in Rin, who pulled in me. I snagged Kakashi's leather strap at the last moment and pulled him inside with me. We all stumbled about, bumping into each other, inside the small, cluttered room.

"I don't like this," Obito muttered under his breath; he was silenced by a harsh glare from the Raikage, who was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Tired of the nonsense, I copied the Raikage's pose and raised an eyebrow. "Enough of this," I said gravely. "Explain why we're here."

Lord Raikage and the rest of my team stared at me as though I had just insulted some sort of god.

The Raikage pushed off the wall, standing evenly at his full-height. "Do you know who you're speaking to, girl?" he said lowly, voice thunderous in potential anger.

Mimicking his posture, I stood with my feet placed shoulder-width apart, braced confidently on the hard, cold floor. "I think I'm speaking to someone who doesn't have the guts to defend his own village against whatever has the civilians cowering in their homes," I replied evenly, glaring defiantly up at the tall man.

"Shut _up_, Aoi!" Rin hissed, and Obito mouthed, _Are you trying to get yourself killed?_

I ignored them and gave the Raikage a hard glare. His brow furrowed in return before he broke out with a small grin.

"I like you, kid. You've got guts," he laughed.

I sneered. "Get on with it, old man. I didn't come all the way here for you to play games."

The Raikage chuckled darkly. "Ah, kid. That's where it gets complicated, see." He turned to Minato-sensei, a grim smile stretched tightly over his features. "I want you to find a kunoichi by the name of Fuyumi Foru."

I watched curiously as Minato's eyes widened. When he spoke, his voice was breathy. "You can't be serious. Lord Raikage, I haven't seen her in years, I wouldn't know where to start. And besides, this should be a level-A mission. I won't bring my team into this."

"Wait, wait, hold on a second. What's going on? Who's Fuyumi Foru?" Obito demanded in a rush. He looked as confused as I felt.

But I had heard that name somewhere before...

"Minato-sensei, we're not ready for an A-rank mission yet..." Rin said uneasily. Kakashi shifted his weight, eyes flicking boredly between the Raikage and our sensei, but otherwise showed no concern.

The two adults ignored us.

"Minato, please, I need you for this. She'll come back if you ask her. She's just upset with the village right now. That's why everybody's in hiding... without her, we're so vulnerable, Minato. It's only a matter of time until we're attacked," Lord Raikage pleaded. His deep bass voice, to my suprise, sounded desperate... and afraid.

_This woman... whoever she is, she's important._

"Team Seven, out in the hallway, please," Minato said lowly, a fierce glare crawling over his face in a way I'd never seen before. Minato had always been playful and happy; something definitely wasn't right.

My teammates and I shuffled into the hallway; Rin's head was lowered in thought while Obito's tilted back, his hands in his pockets as he stared up at the ceiling with brooding black eyes. Kakashi's slate stare bore into the wall opposite the one he settled against, and my own emerald gaze darkened while I was consumed within my own thoughts.

"What do you guys think is going on?" Rin asked after several thick, stretching minutes of silent tension.

Kakashi shrugged and Obito bit the inside of his cheek, shaking his head as if to say he didn't know. I sighed and slid down the wall next to Kakashi, resting my head on my arms across my knees, which were pulled up to my chest. Several more long seconds of silence consumed us until I allowed my whispered answer to permeate the air.

"I don't know."


End file.
